Broken Lovers
by Wendy McCalister
Summary: Being a teenager is hard. Just when you think everything's going well, it all suddenly starts to turn complicated. You have to face this drama and that drama. It's one drama after another. Well, that's life. Main pairing: Kurama and Botan, other pairings also included. Rating may go up in later chapters.
1. BL Part I - Beginning: Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of its characters.

Summary: Being a teenager is hard. Just when you think everything's going well, it all suddenly starts to turn complicated. You have to face this drama and that drama. It's one drama after another. Well, that's life.

Broken Lovers

Part I - Beginning: Chapter 1

* * *

><p>"Hey, mom?"<p>

Botan Fukuyama sat on the bed, with her cellphone near her ear. A wide smile plastered on her face as she went on, "How have you been?"

A young girl at the age of eighteen. Hair as blue as the sky and big, glittering amethyst-coloured eyes. Very pretty, but rarely interested in any boys. She's quite intelligent despite most people think she's an airhead. Happy-go-lucky, helpful, and funny, Botan is popular in her school. Although not as popular as her friends, Keiko and Yukina, she is still one of the most sought women in Hakuen Senior High School.

_"Fine, honey. What about you? Is everything okay in the house?" _her mom asked her in a concerned tone.

"Yeah, everything's okay. Don't worry about me, I've paid the bills. I'm doing fine here, mom. You always worry, stop that or you'll grow old quickly," she joked.

She heard a giggle from the other side. _"Okay, okay."_

Her mom, Yuri Fukuyama works as a flight attendant, so she travels a lot. She was pregnant with Botan when she was twenty, so she's only thirteen five now and still quite young in Botan's perspective. But seeing as her job requires her going out of Japan, Botan's always left with taking care of the house, alone and despite feeling a tinge of loneliness sometimes, this helps her to be more responsible and matured.

"How's Australia?"

_"Oh, it's great! I've bought you a souvenir, I'm sure you'll love it! How's school?"_

"School's school," Botan replied casually, "Can't wait for the souvenirs though."

Yuri laughed. _"You'll get it when I'm back. I hope you're getting along with our neighbours. You're not causing any trouble, are you?"_

She glanced outside of her window. There, in front of her house, stood her neighbour, also a kindergarten teacher, Yuka-san with an angry look on her face. She was also soaking wet. "Yeah, there's no trouble at all," she answered, a small smirk lingering at the corners of her mouth as she watched the teacher stomp her feet and yell out something.

_"I find you hard to believe."_

"Aw, mom!" she said childishly. "Why won't you believe your little girl?"

A sigh. _"You know what, never mind."_

Botan grinned, clearly pleased that Yuri dropped the subject. She's always against telling mom the pranks she does to the neighbours. Of course, Yuka-san is her favourite victim. "So, have you met any cute guys?" she interrogated.

_"Why do you always ask that?" _Yuri asked instead of giving her an answer.

"Cause you're my mom, and I'm your daughter, so I need to know who my new dad is!"

_"You don't have a new dad. Australians are cute, I guess, but none of them are my type. What about you, Bo-chan? When will you have a boyfriend?"_

"I told you already, I'm not interested in guys. Putting that aside though, how many times have you said that there isn't your type?"

Her dad had left them when she was five because he found someone else, and this caused Yuri to be an only mother and the only one to take care of the family. In spite of her initial anger, Botan understands how love works, and why he decided to leave them. And frankly, she can't blame him. Neither could her mom. Love, as Yuri had told her many times before, has the power to make people feel endless happiness and unbearable sorrows, and most people would do almost anything for the sake of it.

Which is why, it's hard for Botan to 'fall in love' like most teenagers. It's not like she doesn't know how love works for young people these days. Teenagers willing to run away from home just to follow their so-called love of their life. If love makes you want to leave your family, why be in love anyway? That's what she believes in. The times she's asked her mom whether she's found a guy or not, is only because she wants someone else other than Yuri to carry the burden of being an only parent. Not because she wants her mom to truly loves someone.

Of course, Botan works part-time as a newspaper girl, but that's not enough. There has to be a man in the house.

_"Stop asking me these questions. I'll find someone soon, don't worry. Well, honey, I have to hang up now. I'm pretty busy here. Take care of yourself, and don't forget to be nice to the neighbours," _Yuri said the last sentence in a stern voice.

Botan pouted but then replaced the pout with a warm smile, touching her eyes with warmth and love. "Sure, mom. I'll do that... in a near future." She heard an exasperated groan and let out a laugh at the sound. "And you too, take care."

She couldn't see Yuri but she was sure her mom was smiling. _"Okay, Bo-chan. Bye, I love you."_

"Bye, love you too." With that, she ended the call.

* * *

><p>"Why do I have to do it? Why can't you?" Kurama asked grudgingly.<p>

_"Oh, come on, dude! I told you, I can't. My phone is almost out of battery, okay? If it's not, I wouldn't be calling you now, asking for you to tell her," _Yusuke explained, and Kurama could just imagine him sporting a scowl on his face right now.

"I know that. You've told me a million times already. But why me? Why not ask someone else?" he asked again.

_"Man, Kurama... If I know you're not going to help me, I wouldn't call you in the first place. Dude, you've always got my back, why can't you do this? It's fucking easy! Just call her and tell her about my goddamn party!" _

Kurama rolled his eyes. "Easy for you to say," he mumbled. "You know how Botan feels about me, she doesn't like me. Yusuke... you know that better than anyone."

There was a pause and then, _"Oh yeah! I forgot about that!" _He soon heard a loud laugh from the other side.

He heaved out a loud, exasperated sigh.

Kurama Minamino. Hair the same colour as roses, and magnetizing eyes in a colour of emerald. Handsome, smart, and excellent in sports. He's literally the man of every girl's dreams. Observant, and always in control of his feelings. Though he is very well-known of being a flirt in his school. Hakuen Senior High School, despite being a school with many brainy students, the girls are just too easy to get, and would always fall for his charm.

And that pretty much explains why he and Botan don't get along well. Sure, they've talked to each other, and even joked with one another a few times, but Botan Fukuyama, as far as he knows, isn't the type of girl who is hung up with romance, and has always disliked the way he toys around with girls. Though he doesn't understand what her problem is. He does have a tendency of flirting with them, having fun with the way they would just swoon at just a small, charming smile but he has never date any of them before.

"Fine," he suddenly agreed and as instantly as he said that, Yusuke cheered loudly.

_"Thanks, man! You're a good friend. Oh, shit, my stupid phone's dying. Okay, bye!"_

He didn't manage to reply back with a "bye", as Yusuke quickly hung up. He blinked at this, and stared at his cellphone for what seemed like forever before finally letting out another sigh. Well, might as well just get this over with.

Dialing Botan's number, he waited for the girl to pick up.


	2. BL Part I - Beginning: Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of its characters.

Summary: Being a teenager is hard. Just when you think everything's going well, it all suddenly starts to turn complicated. You have to face this drama and that drama. It's one drama after another. Well, that's life.

Broken Lovers

Part I - Beginning: Chapter 2

* * *

><p>Her phone went off.<p>

Botan arched an eyebrow at this. Who is it now? She wondered to herself. Yusuke? Or is it Keiko? If it's Yusuke, then it's probably just another party he has planned. And if it's her best friend Keiko, she might have something big to tell her. Botan knows perfectly Keiko would never call someone if it wasn't an emergency or an important matter. After a few more seconds of guessing who it could be, she finally shrugged it off.

She opened her phone and upon seeing whose name was on the screen, her brows creased.

_Kurama._

Why would he call her? She's not that close to him anyway. For a moment, she debated whether or not she should pick up. She's not really fond of Kurama because of how he constantly plays around with girls, but this might be something crucial. She clicked the "Accept" button.

"Hello?" she said as soon as she placed the phone to her ear.

_"Er, hello." _He sounded nervous.

"Why are you calling me? Is there something going on?"

_"No, nothing's going on," _Kurama replied quickly. _"I, um... calling you to tell you about Yusuke's party."_

Yusuke's party? Oh, so he does has a party planned. But why is Kurama the one to notify her of this? Why didn't Yusuke tell her himself? "Okay," was her only answer.

She waited for the person on the other line to speak some more, but when nothing came, she continued, "Why did he have to ask you to tell me?"

There was silence for about three seconds, and then he finally spoke. _"His phone was dying when he called me to inform me of his party, so he asked my help 'cause he didn't have enough battery to give you a call," _he told her.

"Oh." Her mouth formed an 'o'. "Well, okay."

_"Right. The party is on tomorrow's night, Yusuke said you can come at any time you want."_

"Hmm," she mumbled, suddenly out of ideas on how to respond to that.

Kurama seemed to notice her losing interest in continuing the conversation. _"That's all, I think. Um, bye."_

"Alright, bye," she finished. And swiftly hung up.

She ogled the piece of machinery. Her eyes fixated on it for what seemed like the longest time, before she decided to call Keiko. She needs to tell her best friend about this! She dialled her number, and waited impatiently for the call to be accepted.

It rang for about seven seconds and finally, a beep sounded and Keiko's voice reached her ears. _"Botan? What the hell are you doing, calling me? I'm studying!" _she scolded.

Botan made a face. "Aw, come on, Keiko! You're my best gal, can't you waste a bit of time for your own best friend?" she responded in annoyance.

_"But, you know how important studying is for me!"_

"I know, I know!" She flung her arms up in the air. "As if you can't do that some other time!"

She could've sworn she heard a heavy sigh. _"Alright, fine. What is it?" _Keiko asked.

The azure-haired girl smiled at this. "Guess who called me just now?"

_"Hmm, Yusuke? He called me earlier to tell me about his party. Is that really all you wanted to say?" _The last sentence came out incredulous as it passed her lips.

Botan frowned. "Huh? He called you?"

_"Yeah, why? Didn't he call you?"_

"No," she replied, "He didn't. In fact, he asked Kurama to do that."

_"Eh? So, you meant Kurama? Wow, that's..."_

"...rare, I know," she cut Keiko off before she could finish her sentence, already knowing what the other girl wanted to say. "I mean, I know it's not as if he wanted to talk to me. But still..."

_"Weird, I know," _This time Keiko was the one to cut the other off. _"Though I do wonder why Yusuke called me but he didn't call you..."_

"Kurama said Yusuke's phone ran out of battery before he could even tell me about his goddamn party," Botan told her as-a-matter-of-factly.

_"Ha-ha. I guess that means you were the last person Yusuke thought of telling about it."_

"He's always like that, forgetting about me. Gah!" Botan's voice dripped with indignation as she said this. "And of all people, he just had to ask Kurama..."

A laugh erupted from her friend's throat. _"It's funny, if you ask me. Kurama talking to you on the phone... Whoa, that's just hilarious. It's a shame I wasn't there to witness it."_

Botan's mouth turned into a frown. "Ha-ha, sure, it's hilarious," she said sarcastically.

Keiko ignored the sarcasm in her voice. _"So, what did you guys talk about? Something like this happens at least once in a lifetime. I need to know the details!" _she squealed girlishly.

"Nothing. He just told me the day of the party... but he did sound uncomfortable. It's like he was forced," she answered humorously.

_"Ha-ha. That's most likely the case. I mean, everyone knows you and Kurama hate each other's guts."_

"Is it THAT obvious?" Botan found herself asking.

_"Yeah, preeetyy obvious," _was the response she got.

She let out a sigh, a crease embedded on her forehead. "Not that I hate him too much, but I just... Oh, you know what I mean. You're my best friend, I've told you this a thousand times already."

_"Uh-huh, I get it. But, Kurama just likes flirting with girls, it's not like he dates them," _Keiko reasoned.

"I know that," A pause, "Though I still don't like him. I mean, it's like he doesn't really care about how hurt those girls would feel. He's our school's so-called 'prince charming', right? So, if he keeps doing that, they might think he's in love with them," she argued.

_"You know, sometimes I think _you_'re the one in love with Kurama... You get really mad when you talk about him and other women."_

Botan's frown considerably deepened. Why does Keiko always have to say that? She often asks if Botan loves Kurama. When will that ever happen? Not even in a million years, it wouldn't! "I'm not, how many times have I repeated that?"

_"Ha-ha, okay, okay! Relax, girl! I'm just kidding. Still, you guys are so different. You, Botan, have never loved anyone and Kurama... he likes playing with love."_

"What are you getting at, Keiko?" she asked, feeling suspicious of where this conversation was heading to.

_"Hmm... They say opposites attract. Who knows? Maybe Kurama just might be your first love?" _Keiko said playfully.

"The hell, Keiko?" Botan gawked. "Why on earth would I ever be attracted to him? No way, that's impossible. Stop talking such nonsense."

_"Hey! You may hate him now, but you don't know what fate has in stored for you!"_

"You know what, I'm gonna hang up before you drive me crazy with this whole 'fate' thing," she told the other girl.

She only earned a laugh in return.

_"Kurama and Botan kissing on a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-" _Botan ended the call before Keiko could even finish singing. She wasn't really willing to hear more of her best friend's teasing.

She shook her head and sighed heavily. Lazily, she flopped to the bed, staring straight at the ceiling. Her gaze glued to it as if there was something there.

"Opposites attract, huh..." she murmured to herself.

* * *

><p>Kurama's gaze was fixed on the screen of his cellphone. Well, that went pretty well from his perspective. He expected her not to pick up, but she did. Although she wasn't interested in having a long chat with him, it ended quite good.<p>

His phone suddenly vibrated. Gingerly, he opened it and peered at the message glaring at him in bright white.

_3:00 p.m. From: Juri, To: Kurama - 'Hey, Kurama-kun! What'cha doing? I miss you, you know ;)'_

A smirk tugged at his lips.

_3:01 p.m. From: Kurama, To: Juri - 'Hi, Juri-chan. What am I doing? Mmm, missing you, that's what :*'_

_3:02 p.m. From: Juri, To: Kurama - 'Oooh, Kurama-kun! You're so sweet, I love you sooo much.'_

His smirk immediately felled.

_3:05 p.m. From: Kurama, To: Juri - 'I'll see you at school.'_

He sat the phone on his desk, and leaned back against his wooden chair. The smirk came back, touching his eyes with amusement - Girls, as usual, are so simple. They could say they love him as many times as they want, but he'd never feel the same way for them. After all, the flirting, the 'I miss you's, and the sweet talk that came from him, they are all pretentious. Fake, with no real meaning at all. He's only having his own entertainment of watching them all fall easily for him.

His mobile phone vibrated once again, signalling that another message had once again entered his inbox.

He didn't bother to look, already knowing that it was just Juri again, telling him how much she loves him and how much she can't wait to see him again. He's tired of those kind of messages, truthfully. Still, they're laughable.

He chuckled. "Women..."

"Kurama!" his mother called for him all of a sudden, bringing him out of his thoughts.

"Yes, mother! I'm coming!" he shouted back.

Getting up from the chair, Kurama gracefully walked out of the room. The messages that were now entering his phone continuously ignored completely.


	3. BL Part I - Beginning: Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of its characters.

Summary: Being a teenager is hard. Just when you think everything's going well, it all suddenly starts to turn complicated. You have to face this drama and that drama. It's one drama after another. Well, that's life.

Broken Lovers

Part I - Beginning: Chapter 3

* * *

><p>"What is it, mother?" Kurama asked, strolling to the couch where his mother was sitting at.<p>

She turned to look at him and gave him a smile. "Nothing. I just want to talk to you, that's all."

Shiori Minamino. Single mother, now currently dating a man named Hatanaka. Quite the perfect woman actually. She's beautiful, with dark black hair and hazelnut-brown eyes. And also an excellent cook; she can make almost anything. Unfortunately though, Shiori's used to be husband and also his father, died four years ago because of a disease. So Kurama is really hoping for Hatanaka to propose to her as soon as possible – just to see her happy again.

He arched an eyebrow quizzically. "About what?" He flopped down to sit beside her.

She was quiet for a moment, and then, "How was school today?"

"It's okay."

"Had fun with your friends?"

"Yes, I did."

"What's her name again?" she questioned out of the blue.

Kurama's brows furrowed. Instead of giving her an answer, he asked, "Who do you mean?"

He hoped silently that 'she' wasn't someone from his fan club. They always come to his house to meet with their so-called 'to be mother-in-law'. At first, he didn't know how all of them managed to find out where he lived but then he discovered one of them stalked him when he was on his way home. It's laughable, yet at the same time it's also annoying. Last time a girl came, he had a hard time explaining to Shiori who she really was because apparently, she told her that she was dating Kurama. They all did, actually.

Ridiculous. It's utterly ridiculous.

Kurama was amazed that they still didn't try 'attacking' his poor mother at the same time.

"That girl with the blue hair."

Ah, so she meant Botan. The said girl had met his mother once before. It had been an accidental meeting actually, they were shopping in the mall when they bumped into Botan. Now, Kurama's really regretting that encounter, because he could just sense that Shiori's interested in her.

"She's Botan. What about her?" he inquired, albeit reluctantly.

"Are you close to her?"

"Hmm, not really," he said rather impassively. Sporting a calm and bored look on his charming features.

"Why not? She's nice, funny and cute, too," Shiori continued to urge him.

"It's just that way with the two of us, there's no reason behind it," he lied. Lying to his mother has never been his favourite thing to do, but he's not really going to tell her about his constant flirting with the girls at his school, and Botan's hatred towards him because of the said flirt side of his. Of course, Shiori knows that he's popular amongst girls, but she thinks it's because of his looks and his talents (intelligence, and sports both). Even though those are _some_ reasons, it's mostly because he likes courting girls.

"Well, aren't you going to make her your girlfriend?" she asked the question Kurama has always hated to answer.

"She's not interested in me." _Actually, she loathes me, _he added in his thoughts.

"Oh, that's a first." Shiori sounded genuinely surprised.

"It's not the first time, mother. I have some other girl _friends _who doesn't like me that way," he told her, emphasizing the word 'friends', just in case she decided to prod further into the matter.

His mother caught the hint her son was trying to sent her, though she paid no attention to it. "I see, but I do think Botan's great. She's way better than those fan girls of yours," she said.

Kurama heaved out a small sigh. "Mother, if you don't mind, can we stop talking about girls now?" he offered, his voice as gentle as usual, but Shiori could've sworn she heard a hint of impatience beneath the softness.

She smiled to herself. _I guess that means he's not going to get a girl anytime soon, _she mused. Albeit she didn't voice her thoughts out loud.

* * *

><p>"What do you want now, Keiko?" Yusuke asked in annoyance. He had just lost in a game at the arcade and he was <em>not<em> happy about it, much less in the mood to talk with anyone.

Yusuke Urameshi. A young male with black hair, though he likes to keep it gelled, and dark brown coloured eyes. He is well-known is school for being a delinquent, and quite a bit of a bully. Likes picking fights, and rather stubborn. Most people would think first before messing with him. Despite the fact, Yusuke is a very good friend and it's a known fact that he would do anything for his close ones. He holds a lot of parties, which surprisingly a lot of people come.

He thinks it's because they think it's okay to be with him when it's 'party time'. Other times though, they wouldn't dare speak to him. Not that he cares, it's better that way.

_"Ooooh... Let me guess, you're in a foul mood 'cause you're at the arcade, and you just lost a game. Did I hit the jackpot?" _She sounded more like she was stating it than actually asking.

He scowled. "Shut up."

_"I'll take that as a yes."_

He massaged the bridge of his nose and let out a loud, exasperated sigh. "Just tell me what do you want? I am _not _in the mood for a long chit-chat."

_"Hmm... I was just trying to test something out."_

Yusuke's brows creased in a deep frown, not getting what she was talking about. "Huh? What the effing hell do you mean?"

_"You see, I just heard a funny thing," _Keiko kept beating around the bush, and frankly, it was getting on Yusuke's nerves.

"Stop talking like that, and just spit it out."

The other side was silent for about a few seconds and Yusuke patted his feet against the ground impatiently. He was even about to hang up, thinking that Keiko was just trying to piss him off, when her voice finally came back.

_"Botan told me that Kurama said you didn't have enough battery to call her." _Yusuke groaned. Keiko heard this but she decided to go on, _"But I guess that's not true since you picked up my call."_

"Shit. Damn that Botan. She has such a big mouth," he grumbled under his breath.

_"Hey! Don't you dare say that!" _Keiko cried out almost indignantly. She's always protective over her friends, mostly Botan, since the two girls are best friends.

Yusuke sighed once again. "Sorry, sorry. I didn't mean that, I'm just..."

_"...in a bad mood, I know," s_he cut in before he could finish.

Both of them were silent for a few moments and then Keiko broke it off. _"So, what's the deal? Why did you lie to them like that?"_

"Hey, I lied to Kurama _only_. Not Botan. He told her that, not me," Yusuke corrected her.

_"You lied to Kurama and he said that to Botan, so that counts as you lied to her too, even if you didn't do it directly."_

The delinquent glowered at nothing in particular, or more like the screen of the game he had just paused. "Okay, okay, whatever."

She giggled. After her fit of giggles subsided, she inquired again, _"Anyways, back to my question."_

"I did that 'cause I thought if Kurama were to call her and if they had a long conversation, it would bring them closer," he replied truthfully.

_"Oh." _The brunette paused. _"Well, obviously, that didn't work. I asked her earlier what they talked about, but she said Kurama just told her the date of your party."_

Yusuke let out a frustrated groan. "God! That's it?"

_"Mmm-hmm."_

"When will they ever get along?"

_"You know, they've chatted a few times and even shared some jokes... So, I think they can at least stand each other's presence."_

"I know that, Keiko! But the problem is, they've never _truly _like each other. I mean, all of us have known one another for what? Years? And they still hate each other!"

_"Hmm... you do have a point."_

Yusuke opened his mouth to utter out something else but stopped himself when he noticed the other kids there staring angrily at him. It took him a full second to comprehend the situation he was in. They had been waiting for him to get off the machine for a while now. Why didn't he notice them before?

"Er, Keiko."

_"Yup?"_

"Can we talk some other time? I, uh... have a problem here."

_"Problem? What-"_

Keiko didn't manage to continue when he ended the call, albeit rather abruptly. He turned to look back and expected to see the faces of wrath of teenagers, but he was greeted by a worse sight instead. He grinned nervously at the old man looming at him.

"Uh..." He stood up from his seat, and stepped away to let them have their turn. Disbelievingly, he watched as people rushed to the machine and started to fight over it. A sweatdrop formed at the back of his head.

* * *

><p>Keiko placed the phone beside her book, that was sitting in front of her. She sighed heavily and rose from her chair. As she sauntered to her wardrobe, she thought about Kurama and Botan. Yusuke is right, the two have never actually liked each other even though they have known one another for years.<p>

It's been going that way for too long and to put it simply, Keiko's tired of it. They're not going to hate each other forever, right? Yusuke's plan failed, but that didn't mean they should give up on trying to get Botan and Kurama closer.

_It's time they stop acting like that, _she thought and started to devise another plan. But, she forgot it completely when she realized something.

Keiko Yukimura, a lovable girl, with short dark brown hair and big, chocolate-brown eyes. Smart, and athletic. Almost the same as Kurama but still different. Known to be quite a hopeless romantic - which is ironic since she's best friend with Botan who isn't interested in being in love - and a great person to go for advice. She has always been hung up with fashion. Clothes, jewellery, accessories, you name it.

She's Keiko Yukimura.

And she's out of pretty clothes to wear for the party.

"Fuck," she muttered under her breath.

With that, she literally sprinted to her wooden desk. Hastily, she grabbed her phone, opened it and typed down Botan's number at the message box. All this she did with a much less tact and grace she'd usually have.

_3:31 p.m. From: Keiko, To: Botan - 'I've got an emergency!'_

_3:32 p.m. From: Botan, To: Keiko - 'What emergency?'_

_3:34 p.m. From: Keiko, To: Botan - 'I don't know what to wear for Yusuke's party! We're going out tomorrow!'_

_3:35 p.m. From: Botan, To: Keiko - 'Oh, damn O_o. That IS an emergency. Wait, why not go out now?'_

Keiko banged her head on her desk. Literally. For about three times.

_3:36 p.m. From: Keiko, To: Botan - 'Are you crazy?! Now's not the time! I'm still studying!'_

_3:39 p.m. From: Botan, To: Keiko - 'The heck, Keiko? Screw studying! Don't you wanna go shopping?'_

_3:40 p.m. From: Keiko, To: Botan - 'Botan, you know what I'm like! Clothes are important to me but STUDYING COMES FIRST! DX'_

She got an almost immediate reply from Botan.

_3:41 p.m. From: Botan, To: Keiko - 'OKAY, FINE! I'll tell the girls.'_

The brunette let out a sigh of relief. Clumsily, she sat back down on her chair almost violently, the wooden material threatening to break at the sudden brute force. She shot a glance at her wardrobe again.

Tomorrow's shopping day with the girls.


	4. BL Part I - Beginning: Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of its characters.

Summary: Being a teenager is hard. Just when you think everything's going well, it all suddenly starts to turn complicated. You have to face this drama and that drama. It's one drama after another. Well, that's life.

Broken Lovers

Part I - Beginning: Chapter 4

* * *

><p>"Do you think this will look good on me?"<p>

"Oh, yeah! It suits you! But I don't know if you should wear it to the party..." Botan sounded like she wasn't entirely sure.

Keiko was unresponsive for a moment, scrutinizing the outfit she had in her hands, "Right, I don't think so either."

"Still, maybe you should buy it. I mean, you would look really nice if you wear it. Just keep it for another occasion or something."

The brunette heaved out a heavy, disappointed sigh. "Botan, I'm not sure if I have enough money to pay for two outfits."

The other girl punched her fist against the palm of her other hand. "Oh, I see!"

Keiko shook her head in a disapproving manner, and glanced back at the elegant gothic dress she still held in her petite hands. After a while of ogling it as if it was the last time she would ever see it, she finally placed it back at where she first found it.

"I never knew you were the gothic type of girl, Keiko," another voice teased.

A tall, teenage girl – who looked rather matured for her age – with long, silky auburn hair and small, light brown eyes, stood next to them, looking back at Keiko with a small smirk lingering at the corners of her mouth. She's Shizuru Kuwabara. Known to be quite the female gangster at their school, Hakuen High School. Heck, she was even a leader of her own gang or, her 'troupe', as she would like to call it. Although she lacks a sense of feminine than most girls, she makes it up by being able to think like an adult than a regular teen – most times.

"I'm not," Keiko denied. When Shizuru raised an eyebrow at her, she went on, "I just like anything that's cute."

"Riiight," was the sarcastic response she earned in return.

The shorter girl shot a warning look at her, which was obviously the direct meaning for her to drop it, and Shizuru raised her arms up in the air in defeat as a response. There was still a toothy grin on her face though.

"I'm pretty surprised that you haven't looked for a wedding dress yet."

"Botan!"

The said girl let out a little laugh. "No, I mean like, seriously. I thought you would do that, it's expected of you."

"Why would I need a wedding dress?" Keiko retorted in a frustrated voice and looked away with a dark red colour on her cheeks. "Not like I'm going to use it anyway."

"Eh, really?" Botan taunted and her best friend's blush only darkened in response.

"Oh, quiet, you silly girl," she tried to silence her.

"I'm sorry, Keiko, but I think I agree with Botan," a soft, yet timid voice chimed in. The brunette groaned exasperatedly and turned to look at the smallest girl in the group with an incredulous expression on her face.

"You too, Yukina?"

The girl just smiled apologetically at her.

A cute-looking teen with a small, and slightly skinny body, Yukina Jaganshi absolutely charms almost every male that dared to look at those big, innocent crimson blood eyes and green hair with a slight shade of blue in it of hers. She's kind-hearted, and soft-spoken, also quite graceful, if I might add. She's only the second famous girl in their school, with Keiko being the first.

"We all know you like Yusuke ever since you've land your eyes on that handsome, tanned face of his," Botan teased once again, noting the way Keiko fumed at her words, in spite the obvious way her cheeks were flushing.

"Sure, I like him. I'm not going to deny that 'cause I'm the one who told you girls in the first place. But I am NOT planning to marry him. I mean, just... you girls know how he is! Why would I ever be a wedded wife to a man like that?"

"Oh, but he's got you love-struck, girly!" Shizuru added, pointing a finger at Keiko's face. The girl only looked away, finally giving up on her efforts of stopping them.

"I wonder how their kids would look like in the future..." Botan uttered out all of a sudden.

Keiko's big, brown eyes widened in surprise, her cheeks flushing redder as more embarrassment crept into her skin. "Geez, Botan!"

The other three girls broke into a howl of laughter as their poor friend began yelling at them indignantly.

* * *

><p>"Oi, Kurama! Open the door!"<p>

Instead of knocking it like normal people would, the person outside started banging on it – rather violently actually. A loud, exasperated groan was heard throughout the house, and the redhead stood up from his seat on the couch. Not forgetting to tell Shiori who was cooking in the kitchen that he would get it.

Kurama opened the door, albeit reluctantly and fixed a glare at the faces of his friends.

Yusuke arched an eyebrow at him. "Geez, Kurama. What the hell made you so freaking pissed off?"

"I am not upset, Yusuke," he corrected the other male in a polite voice, but anyone could sense the underlying anger in it, "But don't you know how to knock?"

"Pfft, of course I do," the delinquent dismissed him with a wave, "Didn't you see what happened? I knocked, didn't I?"

"No, Yusuke... you banged on my door."

The said teenager blinked at his redheaded friend for about a few seconds, before shrugging his shoulders in a nonchalant manner. "Feh, whatever. Got you to open this damn door anyway."

Kurama sighed, and resisted the urge to slam the door in Yusuke's face.

"I wouldn't mind if it was just me at the house, Yusuke. But, my mother is here too. And I'd rather if you don't act... how do I say this..." he paused, thinking of the suitable word to describe what was on his mind. After a while though, he chose to use a different sentence altogether, "... Er, just act like you at least have some manners."

"Oh, shit." Yusuke's eyes widened, as if he was surprised to hear this. "I didn't know your mom was here."

"Of course, she's here, you clown," a voice snorted. "They – as in Kurama, and his mother – live here, remember?"

Yusuke shot a glare at the shorter male beside him. "Oh, yeah, thanks for reminding me," he replied sarcastically.

Hiei Jaganshi, twin brother of Yukina, though the two is obviously different. If Yukina's polite and kind, then Hiei's the exact opposite of that. A short male - he is rather sensitive if people even_ try_ to talk about his height – with spiky, raven hair with a streak of white and eyes in the colour of crimson, just like his sister's. Snide, sarcastic and have a low tolerance on people who can't keep an intelligent – and interesting – conversation with him. Known to be quite the loner at Hakuen Senior High School, but a close friend to Yusuke's and Kurama's.

"For what purpose have you come to my home, really?" Kurama chimed in before the other two could even start a fight.

He suddenly noticed a certain friend of his that was not there. "And where's Kuwabara?" he asked again, not giving either of them time to answer his first question.

"Well, he went to buy a gift or whatever, for Yukina. He said he wants to give it to her tonight," Yusuke replied casually. Still not justifying Kurama's initial question with a proper answer.

"Oh?" The redhead raised an eyebrow and then turned to look down at Hiei. "Did you hear that, Hiei?"

"I am not deaf, you doofus."

"Mmm-hmm."

Kurama stared at the short teen for what seemed like the longest time, his gaze scrutinizing and mocking at the same time, a sly smirk playing on his lips. Hiei, in spite of the fact he was uncomfortable – both because of his friend's stare and the topic of discussion, decided to ignore him. Although that was proven hard to accomplish. The longer the stare continued, the more he was losing control of his patience.

Finally, after minutes – though it felt like hours for Hiei – of Kurama gazing deeply at him, and Yusuke staring back and forth at his two friends, Hiei finally said, "Well, get your stupid, fucking ass moving. You're going out."

"Hmm," Kurama mumbled absent-mindedly in response, still focused on trying to get Hiei to snap. "Where to?"

Instead of an answer from the short male – not that the redhead expected one anyway, especially after the awkward moment that had occurred just now – he received it from Yusuke. "About that, I want you to come to my house."

Kurama finally averted his gaze, much to Hiei's relief. "What?" he muttered, his eyes now fixated on Yusuke and his brows creased.

"Er, I was hoping you'd help for the preparations of the party," the one in question retorted with a wide, ear-to-ear grin spread on his face. One problem was though, Kurama DID NOT seem pleased about this.

"Yusuke, pardon me if I'm rude. But, don't you think you should do the preparations yourself?"

"Aw, come on, man! You've always lend me a hand with my parties before, why not lend it again this time?"

"I am aware of that, but I'd rather stay here and read a book, thank you very much. Just for once, Yusuke."

"Screw books, Kurama! Sheesh, you sound like Keiko..." Yusuke rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Did I detect a hint of jealousy?" Kurama taunted the delinquent, paying no mind to his comment about books.

Yusuke was about to make a smart remark when Hiei interrupted them. "Will you buffoons stop bickering like children? Let's just get out of here already." Apparently, he was growing bored and sick of their slight mouth-war. He wanted so badly to cut their throats, so they could no longer speak. Though the idea was morbid, it was tempting at the time. He just wants to get this over with so he doesn't have to be with these...idiots anymore.

"Speak for yourself, midget," Yusuke shot back and this earned a glare from the said 'midget'. "You basically look like a kid."

"I swear I'll kill you if you speak of my height ever again."

In return, he got a roll of the delinquent's eyes. Yusuke had gotten used to Hiei's threats a long time ago, after all, they know each other for years now. "Sure, Hiei. Can't wait for that. But you're right," He then turned to Kurama, "Let's just go."

The smartest in the group didn't manage to say anything when Yusuke suddenly looked over his shoulder, and shouted, "Hey, Shiori-san! We're gonna borrow Kurama, is that okay with you?" He ignored the exasperated look his friend was sending his way.

Shiori's head popped out from the kitchen. "Ah, Yusuke-kun! I knew it was you!"

The said black-haired teen scratched the back of his head, and grinned sheepishly. "Uh, yeah. Sorry for banging the door. I was just asking for Kurama's help about my party."

"Oh, yes! I heard about it," She peered at her son, "I take it you agreed?"

Kurama's mouth parted to utter something out but Yusuke cut him off once again. "Of course he did!" His grin widened and he wriggled his eyebrows at the redhead, who mentally sighed in frustration. "Right? After all, your mom had always taught you to always help someone in need. You wouldn't want to disappoint her, am I right?" That was an obvious trick to get him to comply.

Kurama swallowed a lump in his throat. "Yes, you're right, Yusuke," His voice dripping with suppressed irritation. Although he didn't like the idea of giving in to someone's forceful ways - in this case, Yusuke - but he didn't want to look bad in front of his beloved mother.

"That's great! Well, off you go now! I'll see you soon, Kurama!" Shiori greeted him a goodbye, and went back into the kitchen.

When he was sure she was out of his sight, he glared at Yusuke, but he only earned an awkward laugh in return.

He sighed and shook his head. Lazily, he stepped outside the house and closed the door, a click sounded and he turned around to look back at Yusuke and Hiei.

"Come on, we've got job to do."


	5. BL Part I - Beginning: Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of its characters.

Summary: Being a teenager is hard. Just when you think everything's going well, it all suddenly starts to turn complicated. You have to face this drama and that drama. It's one drama after another. Well, that's life.

Broken Lovers

Part I - Beginning: Chapter 5

* * *

><p>"This turned out okay."<p>

Kurama looked over at Yusuke who had a pretty satisfied look on his face. This turned out _more_ than okay to him. Especially after he and Yusuke got Hiei to stop trying to kill Kuwabara (he had dropped by earlier after he had gone back from the store with Yukina's present) for insulting his height when he couldn't reach a cabinet. Then again, maybe it was just him that prevented the horrible thing from happening since Yusuke actually poked fun at the situation.

He sighed and shook his head at the memory. Sometimes he wished his friends would stop acting like a bunch of kids. He then glanced up the clock on the wall, noting the time. It was 7 o'clock at the evening, so he predicted the others would come soon. _Probably an hour from now_, he assumed.

"Oi, Kurama," Yusuke called out of the blue and he snapped out of his musings. Peering over at his close friend, he only gave a soft hum as a response.

"How are things with you and Botan?" the delinquent inquired casually, as if it was just a normal thing. Though being the observant person he was, Kurama could catch on the underlying tone of curiosity and a slight fear in his voice.

He pretended not to notice though. "Fine, it's like it's always been. Why?"

"Oh, uh, no reason." Yusuke looked away for a brief second. "Mind explaining what 'always' means?"

"Things between me and her are going as it normally would for the past years I've known her." The redhead arched an eyebrow at him, a rather smug smirk tugging at his lips. "Is it just me or are you pretending not to know what I mean?"

"Oh! Look! I think Kuwabara's done with the nachos! Ha-ha! That idiot sure took a long time to finish them! Uh, I guess I should go check on him, just in case he didn't mess it up, right?" Yusuke said quickly, before Kurama could even start to interrogate him. Hastily, he sprinted for the kitchen.

When he entered the kitchen, he hid behind the door for a moment and then glanced back at his intelligent friend. Imagine his relief when he saw Kurama talking to Hiei - who by the way, didn't seem interested at all in what the redhead was saying. Kurama might just forget about the whole conversation later, but on the other hand, he has a pretty good memory.

Yusuke cursed under his breath. If Kurama does remember then there was no doubt he's going to try to open the subject again. He pondered what he should do to take the genius' mind of it and then it struck him. Everyone who's going to be to his party is certainly going to drink tonight, right? Even Kurama, so if Yusuke could get his friend drunk, then maybe the next morning, he would have a hangover and forget everything.

He snickered. Oh, yes, it was a perfect plan. Then, a frown found its way to his forehead as he realized something else. Still, it would be hard to get Kurama tipsy, seeing as the redhead has a high tolerance on alcohol... Damn.

"Oi, Urameshi," a rough voice said his name, and he looked over at Kuwabara.

The carrot-top was holding two bottles of liquor, each one in his two hands. Kazuma Kuwabara, a big, muscular teenager with an intense rivalry with Yusuke, even though the latter didn't really acknowledge his so-called 'rival'. Tall, and if you put a lot of thought in it, quite good-looking. He sometimes can be dumb, but still pretty smart for his age. Diligent, honorable and brave, Kuwabara has a few fangirls himself. Not to mention, he's also a good friend.

"What?" Yusuke snapped, not really happy that someone interrupted his chain of thoughts.

Despite being aware of the angry tone in his friend's voice, the taller male ignored it, and just asked, "So, how many bottles do you want for your party anyway?"

The delinquent paused at the question. His brown eyes darting to Kurama for a fleeting moment before he answered, "I don't know, but I want there to be enough to make everyone drunk. And I mean, **everyone**."

* * *

><p>"Hey, guys!" Botan greeted cheerfully as she entered the house.<p>

Yusuke waved at her, and he, along with Kurama, Hiei, and Kuwabara all walked over to the girls. The carrot-top panicked when he saw his beloved damsel in distress wasn't there, "Where's Yukina?!" he shouted loudly, as if Yukina just disappeared into thin air.

"Oh, relax, little bro. You're acting like she's dead. She's at her house, she said she forgot something. She'll be here soon."

Kuwabara's mouth formed an "o", and he heaved out a sigh a relief. Thank God, his lovely future girlfriend was alright. **(A/N: Lol, future girlfriend...)**

"Hn, stupid oaf," he heard a mumble beside him and he glowered down at Hiei, who decided to ignore him.

"Who are you calling-"

Yusuke cut him short before he managed to finish sentence. "Now, now! Chill, guys! We're here to party! Not fight! Even though I want to pick a fight with someone, too..." the black-haired teen muttered the last sentence under his breath in a nearly inaudible voice. He then turned to look back at the girls.

"Took you ladies ages to arrive. Where did you go? Shopping?" the delinquent joked.

"Actually, Yusuke, yes," a feminine voice piped up.

He averted his gaze to Keiko, still not realizing the outfit she was wearing. "Whoa, seriously?" Only when he looked down, did he notice what she had on. A baby blue flower-patterned shirt, a white A skirt, and instead of her usual short, loose hair, she tied the brown locks in a small ponytail. Keiko looked so... pretty, that he almost forgot to breathe.

His brown eyes stared at her for such a long time, the brunette started to feel flustered – and not to mention, uncomfortable, too – under his unblinking gaze. It took Botan to yell, "Oiii!" into Yusuke's ear for the delinquent to finally stop checking her out.

He mumbled something under his breath that Botan didn't quite catch, but she did hear 'idiot' at the end. In spite that though, she grinned at him like a Cheshire cat. "What the hell did you do that for?" he spat venomously.

"I just thought I should do something to get you out of love land, that's what," Botan replied teasingly, and Yusuke's cheeks flushed red in embarrassment at her words.

"W-wha-? Hey! Just because I think she looks cute, doesn't mean I don't think other girls are cute, too, ya know?"

Hearing his compliment about her, Keiko couldn't help the blush that spread on her cheeks. Meanwhile, the others grinned, and resisted the urge to laugh their hearts out at him. The great Yusuke Urameshi was _actually_ stammering.

"Uh-huh, sure," his closest girl friend retorted sarcastically, "But I don't see you checking other girls out," she then added mischievously.

"Shut up, Botan!" was the answer she earned, and the said teen only raised her arms up in the air in defeat in response. Although anyone could see the toothy grin plastered on her charming features.

"Speaking of you anyway," Yusuke started suddenly. He ogled her body up and down, and he took a silent note of her appearance. Botan was wearing a pink collared shirt, her normally high ponytail now let loose, and a pair of dark blue denim shorts, along with knee-high white socks with pink stripes on them. Her clothes covered most of her body parts and this took Yusuke by surprise. To put it simply, he didn't think he would ever get to see her like this.

His eyes studied her outfit for some more, before going back to her face. Seeing her amethyst eyes now blinking in confusion at his sudden actions.

Nevertheless, he went on, almost teasingly, if I might add, "I didn't expect you to wear something... not revealing for once."

He gave her a grin and Botan blushed beet red, stuttering out a, "W-what does that mean?!" She silently cursed her life.

Because her mom is rarely home, most of the time, she doesn't really have enough money to buy herself a lot of clothes like other teenagers do. Sure, the amount of cash she gets from her part-time job should be enough to pay, but she always keeps that for her house bills. She practically lives alone, so most of the money she earns, she uses it to buy other necessary things. Like groceries, or something similar to that. Sometimes she wishes she has more part-time jobs, but considering she is still a student, if she does, she would have no time to read books or study at all. She might not be a hard-worker like her best friend Keiko, but having a good brain and passing any upcoming exams are also important to her.

So, this sometimes forces her to borrow her mom's old clothes whenever she has to go to Yusuke's party - since her own clothes are a little boring - and they never seemed to fit her, they're either too tight or too exposed. Which is why, her friends (mostly Yusuke) always teased her choice of clothing.

"Oh, you know. I remember you always have "Screw me" written all over this cute, little ass of yours!" To add more emphasis on his words, Yusuke slapped Botan's hips, causing the latter to yelp in surprised.

"How dare you, Yusuke!" she cried out indignantly, and hit him hard across the face. Yusuke almost fell over, but he managed to catch his feet before he could, and only stuck his tongue out at her. Botan hits hard, but her hits aren't as painful as Keiko's. They still hurt though.

Keiko sweatdropped as Botan started to throw unladylike curses at Yusuke. Most people would wonder why she's not jealous of their interaction, but most people don't know her best friend and love interest much as she does anyway. She knows they're close, their friendship bordered on brother and sister even, and this kind of thing is pretty much normal between the two. So this doesn't bother her the slightest, because she knows they're just friends.

She watched as Botan began trying to hit Yusuke some more, but the delinquent managed to dodge them all, an exception for a few that actually hit him on the face and the back of his head. Their friends broke into a howl of laughter at the amusing scene unraveling before them.

Except Kurama who just smiled. But if anyone looked close enough, they could see the slight disappointment reflected in those piercing emerald eyes of his. It's not like he's interested in Botan or anything, but still, he'd always hope one day they can actually form a close friendship.

Of course, he knows he could never be as close to her as Yusuke is, but at least, one where she could actually like him as a friend. He let out a low sigh, his head shaking in a slight disapproving way at his own thoughts. As much as he hopes that would happen, he doubts it's going to happen anytime soon.

"So, what do you think, Hiei? Want another go with me?" Shizuru's voice reached his ears, cutting the thoughts going through his head short. And for a second, he wondered how long he zoned out, because apparently, his friends were talking about a different subject and Botan had stopped trying to hurt Yusuke.

"Hn, are you actually challenging me, woman?" Hiei countered, his crimson eyes glinting in excitement.

"What does it look like?" Shizuru shot back.

"Heh, fine. Get ready to lose, **again**," the short male daringly agreed, emphasizing the word 'again' just to make her furious - which worked smoothly.

The tall, teenage girl raised a fist in front of him. "Why you, you shorty! Just you wait! I'll win this time!" she threatened, intending to cause his confidence to waver. That didn't seem to be successful though.

"This time?" Botan's brows creased. "What do you mean, this time?"

"Oh, Botan, don't tell me you don't remember? Yusuke's last party? Shizuru and the shrimp tried to beat each other in that drinking game?" Kuwabara urged, an eyebrow raised at her direction.

Her expression changed from bewildered to thoughtful, and her eyes looked to the right, trying to recall such a thing. She racked her brain for the said memory, but when nothing came, she shrugged her shoulders. "Nope. Not really. I guess I was too drunk." As soon as the sentence passed her lips, she let out a sheepish laugh and scratched the back of her head in an embarrassed manner.

"You know, Bo, by the way you keep getting drunk at every party, sometimes I can't help but ask myself why you haven't get laid yet," Yusuke's voice chimed in, sounding as taunting and teasing as always.

She shot a death glare his way, but he still continued, "Oh, wait, maybe you should be asking yourself that?" he stated playfully and this resulted with Botan hitting him on the shoulder. He mouthed an "Ouch" but his lips then quirk up into an ear-to-ear grin, which annoyed the hell out of Botan.

The azure-haired girl opened her mouth to criticize him for being such a pervert, but Keiko cut her off before she even managed to let the first word out. "Oh, Yusuke! Stop teasing her!"

"Aww, Keiko! I just wanna have some fun!" At the exact moment he said that, the door opened and revealed a slightly panting Yukina, clad in a yellow blouse, a knee-length cardigan and blue jeans.

They all peered at her and Botan was the first one to greet her. "Yukina! Took you long enough to reach here."

"Yeah, you got lost or something?" Yusuke said in a kidding manner, and this earned glares from both Botan and Keiko in return. They didn't go unnoticed by him, but he chose to pretend he wasn't aware of this.

Fortunately, Yukina just let out a giggle, and replied in her usual demure tone, "Actually, Yusuke, I made something for you and Atsuko-san. I thought you would want this." She sauntered towards Yusuke and handed him a tray of nicely-made chocolate cupcakes.

"Sorry if they don't look good though. I ran all the way here, so I almost dropped all of them, and didn't get the time to properly arrange them again," she added apologizingly.

He dismissed her with a wave, "Nah, it's okay. They look delicious." He took his eyes off the cupcakes, and smiled down at the small girl. "Thanks, Yukina."

She returned his smile and nodded her head once. Then, she darted her eyes to her brother, but he seemed to be too preoccupied with the glaring contest he was engaged in with Shizuru to notice her. Or maybe he did, but he didn't want to lose to Shizuru.

A sweatdrop formed at the back of Yukina's green head, and she shook it slightly. Of course, it didn't take long for Kuwabara to appear in front of her and try to impress her. "Hello, Yukina, you look as pretty as usual."

She giggled. "Thank you, Kazuma," she responded sweetly, and the carrot-top literally had hearts in his eyes. Yukina soon found herself pulled by him, his hand holding hers gently, as they strolled over to the kitchen, with Kuwabara talking about the nachos he made.

Yusuke snickered. "That guy never gives up, does he?"

"I think it's sweet!" Keiko squealed in a way only a girl would manage to pull, to which Yusuke arched an eyebrow at her. The brunette seemed to notice his weird stare, and raised one back at him.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Mmm-hmm, sure."

"I said nothing, okay?"

"And I said sure, Mr. Grumpy Pants."

They sent the other a heated glare before looking away with a chorused "hmph!".

Kurama and Botan watched as the two 'lovebirds' started to bicker. Sweatdrops appearing on their heads the more they stared.

"I bet you didn't do anything, huh? I know you let Kurama do everything for this party!"

"The hell, Keiko? It's _my _party. I wouldn't ask someone else to do everything!"

"Yeah, right."

"Fine! I admit, I asked for his help a few times, but that doesn't mean I just sit around!"

This fight over the party's preparations went on for about ten more seconds, before it ended with Yusuke dragging Keiko away to show a few things he did himself without anyone lending him a hand.

"Those two suit each other," Botan said to no one in particular.

"Yes, I can see the perfect chemistry," Kurama replied, a small chuckle erupting from his chest. She looked at him and opened her mouth to say something, but then cut herself short when he looked away. Not intentionally, she knew that because his eyes diverted to Hiei. "Hey, if you're done with this-"

His short friend didn't let him finish. "Whatever you want to say, my answer is no," he told him this without taking his eyes off Shizuru. Crimson eyes narrowed narrowed dangerously and he went on, "I have some unfinished business I have to take care of with this repulsive woman."

"R-repulsive?" Shizuru gawked at him, shocked. Her surprise soon died down, and her look was replaced by a confident smirk. "Oh, it is definitely on."

Before either Kurama or Botan could stop them from having another drinking battle – since they could see the two were planning to, Shizuru and Hiei walked towards the kitchen counter where Yusuke kept most of the wine bottles.

Leaving Kurama and Botan together, with no one else with them. And both persons had the exactly same thought racing through their minds, _This is NOT going to end well_.

For a couple of reasons actually. One, because Hiei and Shizuru might get too tipsy and this may just cause havoc and two, they aren't comfortable with the idea of being left alone with the person they are the least close to.

The eighteen year olds rotated their heads to one another, their lips quirking up into smiles, albeit nervously.

Well, this is going to be awkward.


	6. BL Part I - Beginning: Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of its characters.

Summary: Being a teenager is hard. Just when you think everything's going well, it all suddenly starts to turn complicated. You have to face this drama and that drama. It's one drama after another. Well, that's life.

Broken Lovers

Part I - Beginning: Chapter 6

* * *

><p>Silence engulfed the redhead and the sky-blue head. The loud music banging and filling their ears, nearly making their ear drums bleed. As usual, Yusuke has managed to pull another awesome party in his house. Everyone there was having fun.<p>

Well, except for two people.

Botan didn't know what to talk about, her mind was clueless. So, she just kept her mouth shut in fear she might embarrass herself if she opened the wrong topic. This had never happen before. She always has a lot to talk about to her friends, she talks their ears off even. She knows what sort of things would attract everyone's attention, and she takes that to her advantage to socialize better. But it's different with Kurama, terribly and horribly different. Because she's never been close to him, she doesn't know what subject would catch his interest, and she hates to be this way actually. It's like she's slowly losing her talent. Of course, she also blames herself because she's pretty much the reason Kurama can't ever open up to her.

Damn. The air between them was so uncomfortable, she couldn't help but fidget in the chair she was now sitting on every two minutes. It's been way too long. Where is Yusuke and Keiko? She didn't bother asking herself where Hiei and Shizuru was, because amongst the dancing teenagers, she saw them on a table, with a few bottles of alcohol around them, and Hiei glaring at anyone who dared try to snatch one. Yukina and Kuwabara was out of her sight, although she could guess where their whereabouts were. The carrot-top was probably talking with the small girl in the kitchen, going on and on about how he helped Yusuke with most of the preparations.

Yeah, right.

Botan knew Kuwabara and Hiei couldn't last ten minutes without trying to bite each other's heads off, so she could actually see the two fighting than actually doing anything. And even if they did, it was either one thing or two. She suspected Kurama was the one who put his efforts the most for the party.

There we go again.

Kurama.

Why does her head has a tendency of thinking about him?

It's like she can't stop having thoughts on him, and it's frustrating really. Everything she thought about tonight, would always go back to Kurama. Why? It's annoying. Sometimes she wishes she can actually choose what thoughts should be in her mind and what shouldn't. The problem is though, her mind is always completely random, and Botan knows perfectly even if she tries, Kurama would always plague her mind again and again. That's when she decided to talk to him; first, because it was getting too awkward, and second, because talking helps her not to think of anything, or in this case, Kurama.

Although it's weird to spark a conversation with someone you're trying not to think of, speaking to him would automatically make her mind go blank, because she would be too busy talking and listening to even bother with her musings. Still, how and what about was she supposed to talk to him?

It's times like these that makes her wish she was closer to the charming redhead.

Slowly, she parted her lips to say something to him, but immediately closed her mouth again when two girls approached them. She doubted they were on their way to them to talk to her, which meant only one thing. Sneakily, she peeked at Kurama at the corner of her eyes.

"Hello, Kurama-kun," Juri said as soon as she reached them, her dark purple eyes not forgetting to shoot a heated glare at Botan's direction, and for a moment, the girl didn't know if she should be amused or annoyed that Juri would ever think there was something going on between Botan and her beloved Kurama.

"Hello yourself," Kurama replied, his emerald eyes darting up and down her body. Juri was wearing clothes that barely did any justice of covering most of her dark skin. A tight, red tank top and a black with blue stripes mini skirt. He eyed her with distrust, not lust as she was hoping for, but she didn't know that. As usual, she was clad in something revealing just to try to attract him. But that kind of trick would never work on him. If any guy took a closer look at her skirt, they would get a slight peek of her underwear, Kurama knew this and swiftly averted his gaze up to her face. "I see you're... pretty again tonight, as expected."

Botan caught on the slight discomfort lying dormant beneath his calm, and gentle voice. Almost as if he didn't want to hurt Juri's feelings. Again, she was having mixed feelings. Whether she should be feeling curious or disbelieve, she wasn't entirely sure. Her first option was to watch them talk, and try to figure Kurama out, her second one was to listen to their conversation, and push aside any thoughts about Kurama. The first appealed to her, considering it would be fun to know more about Kurama through his body language. Nonetheless, she chose the second choice, ignoring her growing curiosity, lest she'd hurt her head from thinking of the said redhead.

She is clearly in no mood of trying to figure how his mind works.

Not when Juri and the other girl, Ruka kept talking about facial products, how handsome Kurama was, and how they would love to dance with him. Though of course, Kurama declined both of their offers, which intrigued her, but again, she paid her mounting interest in him no attention.

"Aww, come on, Kurama-kun!" Ruka made a cute pout, hoping to seduce the redhead with this. Again, Kurama silently thought why they kept trying that tactic on him when it was obvious that it wouldn't work on someone like him. Sure, he likes flirting sometimes, but that doesn't mean he's stupid. "Please?" she practically begged.

"But dance with me first!" Juri added out of the blue, and her pink-haired friend shot her a gawking expression.

"No! He'll go with me first! And then you can have your turn!"

"Nu-uh! I asked him first!"

"I-"

Ruka didn't manage to finish when Kurama cut both his fangirls off, "Now, now. Ladies, don't argue. I'm not planning to dance with anyone, but you girls certainly have other guys who would love to. Such beautiful women like you are sure to be the center of their attention," he praised. Beside him, Botan made a "Tch" sound, that didn't go unnoticed by him but the other two girls didn't seem to heard it. He decided to pretend that didn't catch his ears and just smiled sweetly at Juri and Ruka. Always the charmer isn't he?

"Are you not planning to dance with anyone or are you thinking of dancing with her?" Juri 'interrogated', pointing a finger accusingly at Botan, who just arched an eyebrow in return. Kurama shook his head as a 'No', but that didn't seem to satisfy her. The redhead couldn't really get over his irritation over the way Juri's acting like she's his girlfriend.

Botan forced a smile. "Don't worry, girls. Your Kurama is safe, I'm not going to try any moves on him," she assured them. Kurama resisted the urge to flinch, and just felt grateful that Juri seemed to be satisfied by the answer, though at the same time, he didn't feel comfortable, knowing Botan probably had a hidden meaning behind her words: She couldn't stand the thought of having any affections towards him. Not that he wants her to crush on him, but still... Ouch.

Juri glared at her one last time before turning to look back at Kurama, and gave him her sweetest, biggest and cutest smile she could manage to pull. "Well, I'll see you later, Kurama-kun!" She winked at him, before turning around and began pulling Ruka away by the arm. The pink head didn't seem pleased.

"Why didn't you agree?" Botan's voice reached Kurama's ears, and he looked down at her. His emerald eyes blank but his head was thinking of one thing; _The first sentence she could ever say to me and **that**'s it? _To say that he was annoyed would be close enough to describe his emotion right now.

Nevertheless, he responded with a raise of his eyebrow, and asked her back, "Why do you want to know?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "No reason, just wondering is all," she answered him nonchalantly, her eyes staring at the dancing teenagers moving either gracefully or just plain stupidly.

"Mmm-hmm," Kurama didn't seem to believe her, but he let it slide, "Well, I guess you can say I'm just not interested."

"Oh, I see." She nodded her head, glanced at him for only a fleeting moment, and then looked away. A frown embedded on her forehead, and her mouth in a thin line, as her pools of amethyst reflected nothing but confusion, as if she didn't know whether or not to trust him.

He quickly caught this, and it made him furious for an odd reason. "Did you think just because I like playing around with them, I'd actually take the risk of any possible ways they would pull to get me to be their boyfriend?" His tone bordering on mocking, but not quite. It still had that curtness, and calmness in it, and for some reason, that annoyed the hell out of Botan.

Her mouth opened to give him a piece of her mind, but Kurama uttered out a, "I'm going to take some fresh air," and started to walk for the door, before she could even say anything that he'd rather not listen to at the time.

Great, now she was feeling guilty. Knowing that she was basically the reason he decided to leave her alone. Heaving out a loud, exasperated sigh at her own behavior, Botan shook the thoughts out of her head, hoping to get rid of the creeping feeling of regret in her heart. Not working though.

"Hey, Botan, what are you doing here by yourself?" a voice questioned her in befuddlement, and she didn't even need to look to know who it was.

"Actually, Keiko, I was with Kurama. But he went out just now," she replied.

Keiko blinked twice at her best friend, before peering over to the door, seeing Kurama opening it, and stepping outside, closing it behind him as he did so. It didn't take the brunette long to realize Kurama didn't want to be with Botan's company any longer.

She sighed. "Maybe you should go talk to him?" she suggested, taking a sip of the glass of liquor in her hand. Botan's eyes darted to her with a look of disbelieve in them.

"Are you serious? Can't you see he doesn't want to?"

"Just go and try to be nice to him."

"I _am _**nice **to him, Keiko," Botan corrected her.

Keiko arched an eyebrow at her, her face sporting a look that practically meant 'Really?'. Botan sighed, closed her eyes and flung her arms in the air, removing herself from the wooden chair, and opened them again, now looking at Keiko.

"What do I say to him?"

"I don't know. Anything."

"Hmm," was Botan's only response. She turned around and was about to saunter away when Keiko's hand suddenly gripped hers.

She turned back to look at the brunette. "What?"

"Listen, Bo... Kurama's really a good person, you just don't know him yet. You can't dislike him just because of one thing about him. I know how you feel about his constant flirting but that doesn't mean he doesn't have his good points. Don't hate him when you don't even know everything. Who knows? Maybe you might just like Kurama, and become close friends with him." As usual, her best friend sounded more collected, and smarter than her.

Botan grinned weakly. "I know," she murmured - more to herself than to Keiko. It's times like these she wishes she was Keiko.

The brunette let go of her friend's hand and watched as Botan walked to the door, and shouted loudly – hoping the other girl would hear her since the music was too loud. "All I'm saying is get to know him better!"

She saw Botan sent her famous Cheshire-like grin her way, indicating that she caught her sentence and opened the door.

Soon, it closed and Keiko closed her eyes, letting a sigh escape from her lips. "I hope it goes well..."

* * *

><p>"Hey."<p>

Kurama looked over his shoulder to the smiling girl behind him. "Hey," he retorted casually.

Botan strolled closer to him, now sitting beside the redhead and then, "Er, sorry if I made you angry, Kurama," she apologized, scratching the back of her head as a small hue of pink of embarrassment spread on her face.

He smiled. "No, it's fine."

"So, what are you doing out here?" she asked as instantly as she felt him forget what had occurred between them earlier. "Don't tell me you're just standing here, and scaring away Yusuke's neighbors?" Botan added playfully and poked a finger at his shoulder.

Kurama chuckled. During times she doesn't act like she can't stand him, Botan actually amuses him with her jokes. "No, I'm stargazing."

"Eh? Really? Ha-ha. I never thought you were the stargazer type of guy, Kurama." She giggled as soon as she said that.

He just gave her a warm smile - touching his eyes with mirth. "Would you like to join me?"

"Oh, sure, I'd love to," Botan quickly agreed.

His hands grabbed her waist all of the sudden, she blinked and the next thing she knew, she felt him pull her down to the ground. She sat uncomfortably on the cold, hard surface, her legs in an almost awkward position from being pulled unexpectedly, and she rotated her head to the left to Kurama. "Why are we sitting on the ground?" She fixed her position and was now sitting with her legs against her chest.

"No reason, I just like sitting than standing."

"Ha-ha. You're funny sometimes, Kurama."

"Glad you find me humorous, Botan."

Botan let a fit of giggles erupt from her throat once again, before the sound slowly subsided, her amethyst now staring up the dark sky. "Ne, Kurama?"

"Yeah?" he mumbled back, almost absent-mindedly, Botan noted. Probably because he was too preoccupied with gazing at the stars.

"I, uh... I don't know how to say this. But, um... do you, hate me?" Cautiously, she inquired, afraid that she might offend him with her words. Thankfully, he just averted his eyes to her, a small smile lingering at the corners of his mouth.

"No, I don't hate you."

She was bewildered. "But our friends always tell me..."

"They misunderstood my emotions. They think just because I'm scared to talk to you, I don't like you. But I do, I want to know you but I don't think I deserve that. I mean, since you hate me and all..."

"Hate's a strong word," Botan quickly said back, "I don't **truly **hate you. I just... don't like your attitude on some occasions."

His smile widened slightly. "I think I can understand that."

Looking back up the bright, shining stars up in the sky, he added in a joking voice, "I remember talking to my mother yesterday. She wanted me to ask you out, and I was trying hard to make her stop talking about you because I was so uncomfortable." He laughed and Botan joined him.

"Whoa, seriously?" she replied in an amused tone.

His laugh slowly vanished into thin air, and Botan, hearing this, stopped her own howl of laughter. "I wasn't comfortable with the idea of my mother wanting you as my girlfriend because I know you don't like me, and I'm not used to people disliking me."

Darting his emerald eyes back at her, Kurama asked, "So, what made you come out here?"

"Keiko," she started, "and also because I felt guilty of making you leave in the first place."

"I don't mind." A smile tugged at his mouth. "If you haven't done that, then maybe we wouldn't be here with this beautiful, picturesque scenery in front of us."

Botan returned his smile. "I guess you're right. But, I shouldn't have hurt your feelings like that. Keiko's right, I can't just judge you on one characteristic. I should have given you a chance."

Kurama listened intently, his ears focused on her every word and his eyes completely on her face, as she went on, "Sometimes, I'm jealous of you and Keiko, you know. I mean, you guys are so smart, it's like you have everything under control."

"You're smart too, Botan." She fixed her gaze on him. "You just don't know it yet."

She smiled and this time, it was her turn to listen, "It's ironic that someone like you can be jealous of me. I mean, you're a fun person to talk to, and you can let loose anytime you want." His emerald eyes seemed to glimmer in the moonlight as he looked at her. "When you're someone like me or Keiko, you'd feel stressed. Everyone around you, the teachers, your parents, and even your friends, expect a lot from you. They want you to be perfect. And it's suffocating sometimes."

For a moment, Botan pondered if she has ever made Keiko feel that way before. "Really? I didn't think it feels like that."

"Yes, well," A chuckle erupted from his chest, "You don't know everything on someone's mind, right?"

"Right," Botan replied with a smile. Nodding her head as a form of agreement.

"There's something I want to know though," Kurama started out of the blue, and she only hummed softly in response, her gaze entirely on the sky. "Why do you hate it when I flirt with other girls? I can understand your frustration because you're a girl, and I know you probably don't want me hurting others' feelings. But..."

Botan averted her gaze to Kurama, seeing the redhead now staring at her with a scrutinizing look in his eyes. "I can sense there's something else."

Nothing was heard. They just stared at one another in silence. A few more moments passed, and then, Botan finally looked away, her bangs covering her now glistening eyes so Kurama wouldn't see them. Even so, the redhead could tell it was something she'd rather not talk about from the way her mouth was quivering.

"L-look, Botan... you don't have to tell me. I won't force you..." he said to her in a gentle, comforting voice.

It took her a full minute to blink back the tears that threatened to come out of her, and slowly, she lifted her head, her eyes closed and her lips slightly quirked up in a weak smile. "Okay."

"Are you alright?" he asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be? I'm the happy, lucky Botan!" the girl grinned at him like a Cheshire cat, and started to laugh. Although Kurama could see through the act, he decided to play along, due to fear she might break into tears if he prodded the matter further.

"It's good to hear that."'

Botan smiled at him and Kurama smiled back. This lasted for about a full second, before the former held out her hand.

He blinked. "What is it?"

She giggled girlishly. "So, can we try to be friends?"

His confused look was soon replaced with a wide smile. "I'd love that," and he gladly accepted her hand into his.

* * *

><p>Kurama wasn't sure if he was drunk or not. Maybe he was, maybe he wasn't. His mouth was spouting out incoherent nonsense and he couldn't think properly, his mind was in a jumble. And he smelled strongly of alcohol. "Eh, why am I seeing two Kuwabaras..." his voice slurred, as he once again spotted a double of his friends. For some reason, he felt like singing the song "Barbie Girl", so he did. From the corners of his eyes, he saw Atsuko who was drinking to her heart's content. Where did she come from?<p>

Oh, yes, he was definitely drunk.

The worst part was, he couldn't take his eyes off everyone's butt. Something about asses seemed fascinating to him in his drunkened little mind. A while ago, he was sane, and then Yusuke started to give him too many drinks, and now he was this. "Whoo-hoo!" he suddenly cheered, happy that he just finished singing his favorite song - or his favorite when he's tipsy, in this case.

"Hey, take it easy," someone said behind him and the jumble mess in his head couldn't register who it was. Not that he cared though.

"Go! Go! Go! Go!" He soon heard loud cheering around him, and he looked with glazed over eyes as he followed the crowd's gaze. The cheering went on, and he caught sight of Botan, now with her feet on the table and dancing to the loud music, her hips swaying - looking more drunk than he was. He also took notice of her collared shirt which was now thrown somewhere, and her knee-high socks gone. For a moment, he wondered since when had she been there, but at the time, he didn't care as he was getting quite a good view of her undergarments.

His eyes watched as she started to unzip her denim shorts. A sane part of him, lying dormant beneath his drunken exterior, told him to stop her, but his tipsy side remained dominant, telling his sane side to shut up, and just let him watch the show.

So he did.

He watched like an awestruck audience as Botan acted the part of a performer and as her other remaining garments disappear, thrown away to only God knows where in the house, he couldn't give a damn about the voice inside his head telling him to go up there and stop her. "_Shut up, I'm watching_," he growled and when her white, lacy bra landed right in front of his face, he purred.

The party is going absolutely **wonderful**.


	7. BL Part I - Beginning: Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of its characters.

Summary: Being a teenager is hard. Just when you think everything's going well, it all suddenly starts to turn complicated. You have to face this drama and that drama. It's one drama after another. Well, that's life.

Broken Lovers

Part I - Beginning: Chapter 7

* * *

><p>Kurama felt, for the lack of any formal vocabulary at this time of day, like complete fucking shit the moment he woke up.<p>

He groaned, reaching his hand out and groping about the nightstand for his alarm clock. Frowning when he felt nothing but the cold, hard surface of the floor, he opened his eyes slowly, blinking a couple of times. It took him two full minutes to register where he was, and he now remembered Yusuke's party.

Is this what it feels like to be hung over? Kurama couldn't comprehend how anyone would last through this process. Memories of yesterday's events slowly returned to his mind – he could remember what happened **before** he got drunk, but not all, only the talk he had with Botan… but what happened after that? He couldn't recall much but he did remember Yusuke doing something to Keiko, and Atsuko drinking and practically flirting with her son's every guy friend. And…

The realization that there was a white bra on the top of his head struck him, crashing down like a ton of bricks, the only thing going through his mind; _The hell?_

He jerked up and glanced down slowly in fear and dread. Relieved, he sighed when he saw that he was still wearing his grey dress shirt and blue pants. Still… He grabbed the garment and wrinkled his nose in disgust, throwing it away nonchalantly over his shoulder, not really caring where it'd end up.

However, he pondered in horror of what actually occurred that got that thing stuck to his head in the first place. Did he…? Violently, Kurama shook his head to get rid of that thought and now mad at himself for letting it appear in his mind.

Heaving out a heavy sigh, he decided not to think about it. One reason being afraid of knowing what truly happened, if he put much thought to it. Second reason being his head hurting like a bitch, and as much he likes thinking, he didn't want to have a headache.

Emerald eyes looked around, the owner taking a silent note of his friends who were also sleeping on the floor. An exception for Yukina who had the couch all to herself. Darting his eyes to his left, he caught sight of Yusuke and his brunette crush snuggled up against each other in the same blanket. Good thing was that only his close friends were situated in the room, and not one of his fangirls was there.

He did notice Atsuko sleeping in an awkward position at the corner though. Something bothered him however. His instinct told him that everyone got tipsy last night, and he doubted any of them would cover everyone in sheets. Kuwabara and his sister Shizuru was a different matter though, instead of blankets or sheets like Yusuke, or Keiko and Yukina, they had something of what seemed like a dirty mattress covering their bodies.

Hiei was there, sitting on the windowsill and… He paused. Where's Botan? The girl couldn't have gone home, right? If **he **got drunk, she must surely be, too. He had no doubt in his mind about that. She gets drunk on every party she goes to, and Kurama knows her long enough to know that she'd be too busy doing crazy shenanigans to bother going back to her house.

So, that must mean she was sleeping somewhere in the house. The first place that came through his mind didn't make sense to him, but she might be…

On impulse, he peered down beside him – out of curiosity of who might be sleeping next to him.

He was right.

Botan was there.

But he didn't think of how accurate his guess was, especially when he realized all of a sudden that she was stark naked. _Naked… as in no clothes… She's not wearing anything? S-she's… _he trailed off in his thoughts.

Kurama wanted to remove the sheets covering her, even if only for a bit. Not because he wanted to see what was underneath, but because he wanted to confirm his suspicions. A shaky hand slowly reached out, and stopped. The owner deciding against it at the last minute. If Botan was naked, then he didn't want to see.

Somehow his head didn't ache much longer. His eyes stared widely at Botan, scared that he did something to her. Did he just…? With Botan…?

Oh, shit. He staggered backwards, not noticing his butt that hit directly hit Yusuke's face. He would have felt that if he wasn't too busy gaping stupidly at the girl sleeping with a serene look on her face, as if nothing in the world could bother her. Just imagine that calm expression turning to a contorted look of pure wrath as soon as she wakes up…

A shiver went up his spine at the image conjured up in his head, a scowl quickly found its way to his lips. Oh, great. This is fucking great.

Just when Botan gave him a chance to get to know her better and deeper, he just had to screw it up. Screw alcohol, screw him. Screw everything.

Something moved against his bottom, and he jumped, turning around and backing away with swift and frantic movements, only to stop when the reminder that Botan was now behind him hit him. He certainly **did not** want to wake her up.

Yusuke sat up, eyes still half-lidded and mumbled something incoherent under his breath. Brown blinked, and then closed, only to flick open again and his head slowly rotated to Kurama. "Whose ass was up against my face?"

"Uh…" Kurama instantly caught on the 'whom' Yusuke meant, and decided not to answer, lest he'd embarrassed himself.

The delinquent arched an eyebrow at him, but then held his face in his hands. Fingers gripping on the black locks of hair, threatening to tear them out of their roots. "Oh, freaking god, my head hurts like a motherfucker."

Kurama watched as his friend shook his head a few times, heard a groan erupt from his chest and fixed his gaze on Yusuke's face as the latter lifted his head in slow motion. At first, he thought Yusuke was looking at him, but then, he noticed Yusuke's eyes were fixated a bit further from the left side of his face, and far, far down than the redhead.

"Whose legs are those, dude?" Yusuke asked out of the blue.

The other male blinked for about three times before following his gaze. Placed out of where they were supposed to be, long, pale white legs were visible for him and Yusuke to see. His face flushed in embarrassment and in one fast motion, he covered them.

Nervously, he peered back at Yusuke with an awkward smile plastered on his mouth. "Uh, that-that was…"

"Kurama, I can be stupid sometimes, but I know those are women's legs. They're not hairy at all, and they look soft too…" Yusuke muttered out slowly, his eyes focused on the now covered legs and then he went back to Kurama's face, "Who is that?"

"N-no one…"

"Oh, sure, I guess it's just my fucking imagination then," Yusuke said in a sardonic voice, rolling his eyes in slight annoyance. "Kurama, if that's a ghost, then I don't think you'd be sitting so close to it, so that means its human and I want to know who it is."

"I-I don't think you should, Yusuke…"

The addressed male flung his arms in the air in exasperation and not noticing Keiko who was still hugging his arm, he stood up from the ground, the sheets sliding down his body and walked over to Kurama.

The redhead tried to stand up too, but Yusuke was faster than he was and managed to peek behind him before he could do so. Hazelnut-brown widened. "I-Is that…?"

"Y-yeah…" Kurama replied, not giving Yusuke any chance to finish because he already knew what he wanted to ask. "It is."

"Holy shit!" Yusuke suddenly yelped, and Kurama immediately shushed him. He glanced down his friend and grinned sheepishly, his 'sorry' coming out as a mere whisper.

All was silent for a few seconds, no one dared make a comment about the situation. Not even Yusuke. One, because he was too shocked to even bother saying anything and two, he didn't want to die in the hands of a charming, redheaded smartass.

Lazily, he blinked. Speaking of ass… The words passing his lips with a hint of hesitation and dread, "Kurama… Was that your stupid butt I felt rubbing at my face just now?"

"Yusuke, this is not the time for **that**," the other said sternly, his emeralds threatening to burn a hole into the house' floor, "I am not in the mood."

"Dude!" Yusuke obviously and completely ignored his warning. "I'm not into this kind of stuff! Sheesh, you're weird… You should've chose Hiei…"

Kurama's glare darted from the cold surface to Yusuke's features, the heat in his eyes intensifying slightly. No, he did not just say that. "I am not gay!" he whispered, despite the fact he wanted to scream right now.

"Okay, maybe you're bi," Kurama shot him an exasperated stare, but he went on nonetheless, "I mean, you slept with Botan. So I guess that means you like girls… but maybe guys too…"

"I'm straight! My ass against your stupid face was an accident!"

Yusuke paused. "Ookayy…no need to call someone stupid," he retorted.

Kurama rolled his eyes in response. "Says the person who likes to call other people stupid," the redhead shot back, earning a death glare from the said person in return.

"Now, listen here-"

The Urameshi cut his own sentence short when a feminine moan was heard from behind Kurama. He widened his eyes, and the latter moved away almost instantly as he heard the small noise.

Amethyst eyes slowly opened, and blinked drowsily. Botan raised her head from the pillow, suddenly realizing that Yusuke and Kurama were also awake and she sat up, only to feel something slide down her chest. Or in this case, _naked _chest. Feeling the fabric against her skin, it didn't take long for the girl to understand exactly what situation she was in.

She brought the sheets up to her chest quickly, peering up at Yusuke and Kurama – who was now standing instead of sitting. Her usually cheerful voice dripping with fear as she questioned, "What… happened to me?"

"Not me!" Yusuke said swiftly, due to the thought of an angry Botan trying to kill him frightening him. Botan may not slap as hard as Keiko does, but the girl has a _really_ **sharp** tongue. And you know what they say; the most powerful weapon is words. He'd rather get hit a million times in the face than facing her brutally cruel words.

Pointing a finger accusingly at Kurama, he added, "He did it!"

Kurama let out a nervous laugh – colour draining from his face. "B-Botan, listen to me…"

For some reason, the said young woman decided to scream bloody murder as soon as she saw Yusuke point to him, "Ahhhh!" waking everyone up. All of them jerked up in surprise at the ear-piercing sound and looked at the exact right time to see Botan's hand flying to Kurama's face.

* * *

><p>Somewhere in a different room, a small figure jerked up from the bed she was in. Scratching the back of her head, she groaned lightly.<p>

"Damn kids… they couldn't have wake me up without trying to make my ear drums bleed…" she mumbled, and stood up from the bed, walking towards the door.

* * *

><p>"Er, Botan… I don't think Kurama would do that…" Keiko tried to reason with her best friend, her hands gripping both of Botan's wrists in a tight grip.<p>

"B-but… Why else am I naked like this? And Yusuke told me, he did it!" Botan retorted with a loud cry, pointing her index finger at the said male.

Yusuke raised his arms up in defense. "Hey, I don't know that for sure, Botan. Maybe something else happened… You didn't need to bitch-slap the guy like that," he told her, glancing cautiously at Kurama who was sending death glares at him.

"Yeah, Bo. Yusuke's right, maybe something else happened. And _if _he did sleep you, he won't do it when he's him… he was probably drunk at the time," This time Shizuru spoke. She _did not_ want to wake up to see **this**. The fact that she didn't feel well after drinking bottles and bottles of liquor didn't help either.

Botan seemed to calm down for a bit after Shizuru's words, her hands that were initially raised up in the air were slowly pulled down. They did make sense… Okay, now she was feeling guilty about hitting him.

"What sis said is true. And besides, how do you know if _you _weren't the one who…" Kuwabara didn't manage to continue when he saw Botan's heated stare. "Uh…you know what, forget I said that."

Botan gripped the sheets that were covering her body. Her eyes now fixed on Kurama's slightly irritated face, but he had a smile on as he looked at her and for a moment, she pondered if he was really angry about getting slapped, or if he didn't mind it. It's always so hard to comprehend what's on his mind… Then again, _who_ would like to get hit in the face?

The door suddenly slammed open and everyone jumped at the loud noise. They turned around, and were faces-to-face with an old pink-haired woman. "You dumbasses have to make a racket early in the morning, do you?" she inquired grudgingly.

"Oh, hey, Genkai!" Yusuke greeted, apparently he didn't pay any attention to her words. "I didn't know you were here!"

Genkai, or Genkai-baasan as most people would call her, is an old lady with short, curly pink hair and almond-colored eyes. A friend of Yusuke's family, and sometimes come to visit them. Slightly strict, but she's actually kind, and can be a bit of a mother figure to Yusuke and the gang, especially when Atsuko can't take care of the youngsters.

"When did you get here?" Kuwabara asked, his brows creased in confusion.

"Last night. I shouldn't have come. You kids are crazy, and stupid. You know how long and how hard it took me to get thirty or so drunken idiots out of this house? Do you know that? Not to mention, you dumbasses were under the influence of alcohol too and I had a hard time knocking you out unconscious 'cause you keep doing crazy, and stupid things all over the house." Genkai's scowl was evident as she said this. She's clearly not happy.

"Wait. You knocked us out? Are you insane?" Hiei removed himself from the windowsill. Just when he was having a good time watching his friends argue, suddenly he finds out he gets defeated by some old lady and that doesn't sit well with him.

"Well, what do you think I should've done?" Genkai snapped. "You really think I'll just walk in here and watch you morons goof around?"

Hiei's mouth formed a thin line. Sometimes he doesn't know how to retaliate to Genkai.

"I'm sorry for all the trouble, Genkai-baasan," Yukina bowed in front of the old woman and Keiko followed suit, while the others just stared.

Genkai's eyes felled to Kurama and the red handprint on his cheek, and then to Botan. It didn't take long for her to understand what was going on. "Now you, young lady," she started and strolled over to Botan, "owe Kurama an apology."

She gave the redhead only the merest glance before looking at Botan again. "He didn't do anything to you last night. You started stripping and I had to get you down from the table. When I knocked you out, I just threw you next to Kurama because I didn't give a shit who you'd end up with. I was tired, and pissed."

Botan's befuddled face was replaced by a frown. Her gaze went to Kurama and she gave him an apologetic smile, walking over to him, being careful enough as to not step on the sheets, lest everyone would see what was beneath. "I am so sorry, Kurama. I shouldn't have slapped you like that. I was shocked, and I didn't know what to do."

"No, no. It's fine. I understand," he responded with a smile.

"Wait, wait. Just wait a fucking second here," Yusuke's voice chimed in and everyone averted their attentions to him. He went on, "So, you're telling me you got all us to sleep and covered all of our bodies?"

"What do you think?"

"Oh, wow." The delinquent was silent for a moment, and then, "Anyway, what did I do last night? Tell me. I wanna know."

Genkai rolled her eyes. "I'd rather not. I don't want to relive the memory." Before Yusuke could even make a smart remark to that, she threw something at Botan. "Wear that. I figured something like this happened, so I brought that along with me."

"Really? Thanks," Botan said back, her mouth quirked up in her famous Cheshire cat grin.

"Well, aren't you kids going somewhere?"

They all looked at her confusedly.

She let out a loud, exasperated sigh and shook her head. "Listen, I want you to get out of here. I am going back to sleep and I don't want your ugly-looking faces to be the last things I see."

"Oh," Keiko's mouth formed an 'o', her expression changed from bewildered to understanding.

Yusuke went up to give a retort, probably to say that this was his house and Genkai didn't have the right to kick them out, but Keiko clasped his mouth before he could. "Come on, Yusuke. Let's hang out or something. It'd be boring to stay here anyway."

"But some of us are still hung over!" Kuwabara piped in.

The brunette turned to look at the said carrot-top. "It should last two hours or so, Kuwabara. We should drink plenty of water. The reason of hangovers is because alcohol dehydrates you and causes the brain to…"

She didn't manage to continue when Yusuke cut her off after removing her hand from his lips. "Yeah, yeah, we know. No need for the scientific explanation."

The next thing he knew, he had a big bump on his head.

* * *

><p>"So where should we go?" Keiko asked as they all walked around the town.<p>

After three hours or so, they could finally get rid of their hangovers. But, of course, they needed to change into new clothes before they could go out. This was the girls' idea. Apparently, they didn't want to last a day without shower. They had to borrow a few of Atsuko's old clothes, and good thing they fit perfectly. Except for Yukina who was the smallest in the group and pretty much had to roll the sleeves up so she could move her hands properly. Yusuke hadn't want to wait for them for two reasons, one being he didn't want to stand around and wait while they dressed up and the other being he didn't want to stay any longer, lest Genkai would throw them out of the house herself. Knowing her, she just might do that.

"I don't know, you girls decide," Yusuke replied with a nonchalant tone, shrugging his shoulders.

"Oooh!" Yukina suddenly raised her hand. "I know, I know! The amusement park!"

Kuwabara brightened up as soon as his beloved Yukina spoke. "Oh, that's a wonderful idea, Yukina!" He looked at Yusuke. "Right?"

Yusuke made a 'heh' sound, answered with a "Right", and then, peered down at Hiei, "I didn't think you'd fit my clothes when I was in kindergarten perfectly. I guess that just goes to show how little you are, huh?" a smirk tugging at his lips.

The said short male shot a death glare his way. "I'll kill you."

Kurama had suggested them to change into new clothes too so they wouldn't be wasting time. And the others seemed to fit Yusuke's clothes well – an exception for Kuwabara who Yusuke had to give a big shirt he never fit before that his mother had given him a long time ago and also Hiei. So the short male was forced to wear one of Yusuke's old clothes when he was younger.

"I think you look cute," Shizuru teased, poking a finger at his cheek, and Hiei grunted in return, slapping her hand away.

He made a face. "Do not touch me, woman."

"Whoa, someone's getting sensitive," was her only reply. Again, he glared, this time at Shizuru.

Botan who was walking side to side with Kurama, and behind the others, turned to look at him. "Um, I'm still sorry about earlier."

"Forget it, Botan. It's okay, it's in the past," he dismissed her and then added, "Plus, it's fun too, even though it hurts," letting a small chuckle escape his lips.

She almost burst into laughter, but she bit her lower lip and held it back. Though an amused smile was evident on her face – touching her amethyst eyes with a hint of humor, "You're weird, Kurama."

"Ha-ha. I mean it. It's good to know a girl can be strong enough to protect herself if she's in trouble. Though I do wonder how painful Keiko hits…"

She giggled. "Yeah, I mean, I can never hit as hard as Keiko. It's a miracle Yusuke's still alive…"

"I agree," Kurama replied with a slight humor.

He looked at Botan, and stared at her, she stared back. This lasted for only ten seconds before they soon started laughing, as if something cracked them up.

Yusuke and the others heard the noise, and turned around to see the two standing close to each other and laughing their hearts out.

Hiei raised an eyebrow at this. "Is there something funny?"

"Heh. I'm more interested in knowing _why _they're getting along," Shizuru corrected him, a light smirk lingering at the corners of her mouth.

"Hey, who said we can't get along?" Botan retaliated. "Me and Kurama get along well enough. Right, Kurama?" she stated, sending a wink at the redhead's direction.

"You guys weren't brainwashed, were you?" Kuwabara asked weirdly, his voice dripping with doubt. It was strange to see Kurama and Botan on good terms, considering how long they hadn't been close.

"The answer to your question is no, Kuwabara," Kurama replied, a small smile plastered on his features.

"Well, I don't mind. It's great that you're getting to know each other better," Keiko said happily, clapping both of her hands, before turning to look down at Yukina, "Don't you think so, too?"

"Uh-huh. I do. I like seeing you guys like this," the small girl beamed and looked at the said two teenagers as she said this.

"Yeah, we'll see if you guys end up dating after this," Yusuke suddenly joked, and his friends other than Kurama and Botan laughed loudly.

Botan's cheeks flushed red. "Yusuke Urameshi! How dare you say that! We're just friends."

Kurama scratched the back of his head, a small hue of pink tinting his cheeks as he agreed, "Yes, Yusuke. Botan's right, we're just friends."

"Uh-huh, sure. First, you're friend and the next thing you know, you're an item," Shizuru playfully said and wriggled her eyebrows at them.

Botan's blush considerably deepened. Beside her, Kurama shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. When are they going to stop teasing?

"T-that would not happen!" Botan cried out indignantly.

"You know what they say; the best relationships grow out of friendships…" A whistle sounded.

"Shizuru!"


	8. BL Part I - Beginning: Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of its characters.

Summary: Being a teenager is hard. Just when you think everything's going well, it all suddenly starts to turn complicated. You have to face this drama and that drama. It's one drama after another. Well, that's life.

Broken Lovers

Part I - Beginning: Chapter 8

* * *

><p>Botan didn't know how the subject changed from her and Kurama, to the topic of her last night's shenanigans.<p>

"Next time you get drunk enough to strip, I won't forget to bring a camera along with me," Yusuke snickered as he said this.

She made a disgusted face. "You're repulsive, Yusuke."

He shrugged his shoulders. "Hey, I'm a guy, so this is completely natural." A quirk of his lips was what she earned. "Too bad I don't remember."

"Ugh! You are such a disgusting pervert!" Botan yelled out angrily, and went up to hit him across the head with her small fist, but as usual, he managed to dodge before she could.

"Every guy is a perv, Bo," he retorted, as if it was a matter of fact. Botan was about to retaliate to say how untrue he was, but then she paused. Most Japanese guys probably don't show that they're sexually attracted to a woman, but men most certainly are always thinking of girls that way. If they don't, would that make them homosexuals?

She erased the weird thoughts that had somehow managed to enter her normally innocent mind. "I don't see Kurama or Hiei drooling whenever they see nude women!" she reasoned, already knowing fully well not to include Kuwabara in her words. During the years she's known the him, she's seen the carrot-top gawking at barely-clothed girls at least a few times.

"Hiei's a midget, and Kurama's gay," Yusuke countered. Good thing Hiei was too busy trying to beat Shizuru in a glaring contest to hear this.

Botan didn't think much about Yusuke's comment about Hiei, but the so-called information about a certain charming redhead caused a frown to be embedded on her forehead. "What?" She then averted her gaze to the addressed teen. "You're gay?"

Kurama heaved out a heavy sigh. "No, I'm not, Botan."

"I know what I felt, redhead! Your stupid fucking ass was pressing against my precious face earlier this morning!" was Yusuke's stupid reply. He cut Botan off before she could even utter out a word.

Emerald eyes rolled – both in annoyance and disbelieve. Annoyance because he certainly did not like this strange talk they were having. Disbelieve because he didn't expect this when he decided to wake up that morning. "Yusuke, I told you, that was an accident."

"Accident, my ass," Yusuke snorted. It took him a full second to register what he just said, and his black eyebrows formed a crease as he looked at Kurama. "Don't you even think of my butt, you hear?"

"I would never think of that, for Pete's sake!"

Yusuke parted his lips to make a smart remark at the sentence, but Keiko – who was now tired of listening to Yusuke's pathetic and unreasonable words – stopped him, due to fear her head would go to places it shouldn't go if this keeps up any longer. "Yusuke, will you stop that? He said that he didn't mean to do it."

"I'm still creeped out though."

Kurama stared at him with a pair of slightly mocking emeralds. "If you're creeped out, then what do you think it makes me feel?"

Keiko could see Yusuke was about to comment so she spoke again, "Come on, Yusuke. We're here. Let's go on a ride or something."

The delinquent blinked and it took him a moment to realize Keiko was actually telling him the truth. There, in front of him, he could now see the roller coaster going on full speed and the loud cries of children, teenagers, adult, men and women riding on the thing.

"Oh, shit. This is gonna be so cool!" Shizuru beamed, her light brown eyes reflecting nothing but excitement as she stared here and there at the rides. She didn't know whether she should choose the roller coaster or the carousel. Either way, both seemed fun and thrilling.

"Hmph. How humiliating. Acting like a little girl…" She heard the spiky-haired small teen beside her taunted and she shot a glare his way.

"What was that?"

"Are you deaf?"

"Why you-" Shizuru raised her fist up in the air, threatening to send it flying to Hiei's face, but Yukina held it down with her small hands before she could even go near him.

She glanced down at the shorter female. "Yukina, don't be ticked off or anything, but your brother is a real asshole."

Yukina only let a giggle erupt from her lips as a response. "No, I'm not mad. But please don't be angry at him, Shizuru. Why don't you and Hiei try to spend some time together? And don't fight."

Shizuru didn't want to spend anything with Yukina's said older brother, but the petite girl was so kind and sweet, that she couldn't help but relent and complied with her soft demands. "Fine," she grunted.

Her eyes darted to Hiei – who seemed to be sending heated death glares at her direction. His crimson orbs intense as if trying to burn a hole into her brown head. And she had no difficulty returning the look. If only looks could kill…

"I'll go on a few rides with you, Hiei. But that's only 'cause of Yukina."

The short male scoffed. "Ha! Very well, stupid woman. But, I'll warn you beforehand; I'm not going to ride on something dumb or ridiculous." His glare seemed to intensified – if such a thing was even possible. "Prepare to be terrified out of your life."

Shizuru's lips pulled up into a confident smirk. "Took my words before I could even say it, huh?" she responded in a competitive tone. As usual, the both of them were turning everything into a contest again. Brown eyes burned with an intense fire of the desire to win and stared back at the equally blood red eyes of Hiei that held the same flames in them.

The others sweatdropped and watched with weird expressions on their faces as Shizuru and Hiei started walking to the haunted house, determined to scare their so-called opponent out of the other's mind. All this they did without taking their glares off one another.

"Those two never give up, do they?" Botan said to no one in particular and let out an awkward laugh. She didn't know whether she should feel cracked up or exasperated that her two friends were competing with each other… once again. It's almost as if they couldn't do something together without trying to prove they're better than the other person.

"Well, one can't help but admire their will and determination, right?" Kurama replied with a strange chuckle of his own. If anyone looked close enough, they could see his left eyebrow twitching.

"You know, sometimes I think how a relationship with those two would look like," Yusuke added. Instead of the same awkward looks on the others' features, he had a thoughtful one on his own. "I mean, they say rivalry could end up making you like one another…"

"Eww!" Kuwabara yelled out in disgust and everyone diverted their attentions to him. The carrot-top didn't know what was worse, the thought of Hiei going out on a date with his older sister, or the thought of rivals having feelings towards each other at the end. He considers Yusuke his rival, and he certainly does not want that weird saying Yusuke just stated to ever, ever, ever, ever, **ever** arise.

"I don't know. Hiei's one of the shortest in our gang…and Shizuru's basically the tallest girl amongst our group of friends," Keiko told everyone out of the blue.

"Ha-ha! I can just see it. Imagine how it would be like to see Shizuru bend down just to kiss him. I'd feel sorry for her. She'll end up hurting her back before she can even grow into an ugly, wrinkled old hag," Yusuke added, holding back a laugh that threatened to come out of his throat.

Keiko shot him a stern look and hit him at the shoulder. "Yusuke Urameshi, don't be so mean!"

"Hey, you're the one who said it first!" Yusuke retorted in defense.

The brunette scowled at him. "But that doesn't mean you can just say that about other people!" She then shot another glance at the haunted house. "Hiei will grow taller…eventually," she said, her voice sounding unsure. She's not a fortune teller, now is she?

"Heh. Yeah, can't wait for that," the delinquent replied sardonically.

This earned another frown from Keiko.

"I was thinking, Yusuke… I really want to see Hiei out grow you in the future. It will be priceless to see your face then," Botan teased him.

Yusuke shot a death glare at her. "That will **never **happen…"

"You'll never know," Botan replied, giving him a shrug of her shoulders.

The gelled-haired badass teenager was about to give her a piece of his mind when Keiko suddenly pulled at his arm. He turned to look at the brunette with an annoyed expression. "What?" he nearly snapped, clearly not happy that someone interrupted him.

Keiko's known him since they were kids so she's used to this by now and unlike most people who would cower in fear as the mighty Yusuke Urameshi glares at them she only gave him a toothy grin. "You wanna ride on the roller coaster? It'll be fun," she offered – one reason being that she didn't want to see Yusuke and Botan bickering (sometimes it never ends with those two) and the other reason being the fact that she didn't want to stand there and do nothing.

Yusuke paused, seemingly forgetting his initial anger. He smiled at her and nodded his head once. "Sure, let's go," he agreed and they both started to walk away. Yusuke didn't forget to shout over his shoulder at his friends to meet up back at the spot.

Botan waved a hand at them. "See you guys later! Have fun!"

The four remaining teenagers watched as Keiko and Yusuke grew farther and farther away from them. When their retreating figures were gone, Kuwabara removed his gaze from their backs and shot a glance at the park's entrance. He silently noted the ice cream truck parked near it.

"Ne, Yukina."

"Hmm?" the said girl mumbled in response.

Kuwabara took this as a chance to be alone with Yukina – even if it would only be for a while. He took his eyes off the ice cream vehicle and glanced at Yukina, seeing her staring at him with a confused look. His lips tugged into a bright smile as he asked, "Do you want ice cream? We'll go together."

Yukina's face brightened up. "Oh, I'd love to, Kazuma!" She looked back at the grinning Botan and Kurama who had one eyebrow arched quizzically at them. "We'll be back soon. Do you guys want anything?" she inquired in a gentle voice, not forgetting to be considerate. As always.

"I'll have strawberry!" Botan replied giddily and raised a hand up in the air cheerfully.

"Chocolate's fine with me," Kurama said with much less cheeriness in his voice than the sky blue haired girl beside him had.

Kuwabara nodded his head in affirmation and looked down at the smiling Yukina. The two started to walk to the amusement park front entrance.

* * *

><p>Yusuke's heart was thumping against his chest. Loudly, and in fast, skipping beats. If any sound could drown the sound of his beating heart then he'd be amazed and relieved at the same time. Amazed because it was so loud the thumping filled his ears completely. Relieved because it only made him even more nervous, and anything that could make it disappear or slow down, then he would be grateful.<p>

Too bad for him, sometimes you can't really control your heartbeat… Too bad.

The thing moved slowly, and then stopped abruptly. Before moving again in the same agonizingly slow pace. He didn't know if the roller coaster had a mind of its own, and was trying to scare him away or it was just a bad coincidence. Either way, he didn't like both thoughts. The first one would be creepy and the second one would just mean that fate was playing a trick on him.

It suddenly started to move in a faster face. Faster, faster, and faster it went… Until Yusuke was screaming at the top of his lungs. He gritted his teeth, and shut his eyes tight as the ride started to move in fast speed and at random directions.

He was beginning to really, really regret his decision of agreeing to Keiko's invitation in the first place. His screams were in beyond definitions horror, opposite to Keiko's whimpers of excitement. Seriously, isn't that girl scared out of her life?

"This is sooooo much fun!" the brunette yelped out in glee.

Yusuke turned to look at her to give her an incredulous stare, but when he did, his initial ridiculous face changed.

He watched as his childhood friend and love interest cried out in pure happiness. Her face brightening up in pure joy and that almost too wide open-mouthed smile on her lips were enough to make him forget the scary situation he was experiencing right now.

Hey, maybe this ain't so bad.

* * *

><p>Botan took a seat beside Kurama on the bench, her clothed-hips lying flatly on the wooden surface. "Don't you want to ride something?"<p>

The redhead looked at her and she smiled, asking again, "Anything?"

A chuckle escaped his throat, his eyes glinting with a touch of amusement and humor and he shook his head. "No, I think I'll pass. I don't want to risk going on any rides that would possibly make me go ill and vomit all over the place," Kurama joked.

"Ha-ha. I guess that means we'll just stay here and wait for Kuwabara and Yukina then?"

"My thoughts exactly," was his only reply.

Nothing came after that. His response met with silence, except for a few sounds of the children laughing and the loud screams at the park. Neither minded it though, knowing it was a calm, comfortable silence instead of the usual awkward one. They sat there, with Botan staring up the blue sky and Kurama's gaze fixed on the ice cream truck just outside the entrance. Yukina and Kuwabara were taking a long time, but he could see other people around it, so his guess was there were probably too many customers.

"If you want to go try some of the rides, you can go. I don't mind," Kurama said all of a sudden. His gaze shifted from the vehicle to the girl with her knees brought to her chest next to him.

She returned his stare with a bright, toothy grin. "Nah, I think I'll skip the fun for now. Plus, I'd rather stay here with you."

His lips quirked up into a small smile. "Now, that's the first time I've heard you say you actually like my company."

"Well, there's a first to everything, right?" she stated instead of asking and let out a little laugh.

His response was only a low chuckle. She grinned at this, happy that she could make him laugh, before looking back up at the sky. "Ever thought how beautiful the sky actually is? I mean, gazing at stars is wonderful, but sometimes I just like seeing the clouds above me."

He followed her gaze. "It is beautiful." There was a pause, and he darted his eyes down to the smile on her pretty features. "Just like you."

"Do you mean that or are you just trying to get me to blush?" she inquired with as her gentle smile broadened, and looked back at him with an almost usual look she'd always give to her friends when she's trying to kid. _Almost_.

He noted the slight shade of red spread on her cheeks. Quite pleased when he saw it, if he might add. "Both. And I can see it is working."

Amethyst eyes widened for a bit, and she looked away, avoiding his scrutinizing gaze. Her blush seemed to deepen. "U-um…"

The genius redhead couldn't help the laugh that came out of his mouth. "Relax, Botan. I'm just teasing you."

He was 'rewarded' with a playful punch at his shoulder. Kurama feigned hurt and a pained wince, but anyone could tell there was a smile in his eyes. "Ow, that hurts."

She smiled pleasantly. "Yeah, right. I can tell when you're acting."

He made a pout for a moment, and then humorously said, "Touché." He laughed once again.

Both teenagers were quiet for a while; before Kurama broke it off once again, "Botan, you work as a newspaper girl, right? Yusuke told me a year ago. Is that when you first started on the job?"

"Yep," she replied in her usual happy-go-lucky tone. "Part-time. I guess I needed a job that would be suitable for young people our age so I could earn some money."

"Yes, so I've heard. Your mother works as a flight attendant, eh? Must be tough since you rarely see her…" he trailed off when she waved a hand in front of her face.

"No, not really. I mean, I do miss her sometimes but I know we need the money so I can't do anything about it. In the meantime, I do some part-time work when she's gone," she told him and held up a fist in the air, her eyes burning with the slight touch of determination and hard-work. She frowned all of a sudden, as a realization struck her.

He was about to chuckle when Botan suddenly stood up from the bench, her eyes wide in alarm and her mouth gaping stupidly into space. "Oh shit!" she gasped in horror loudly. He looked at her with blinking eyes and before he could say anything, she took out her mobile phone and dialed a number.

"Pick up, pick up… Come on, pick up, you stupid old man!" she spoke to herself than to him, and as if realizing again that he was still there, she gave him an apologetic smile, to which he responded with a smile – though his was a reassuring one.

She placed the phone near her ear, and as she did so, the call connected and a loud angry shout rang, nearly making her eardrums bleed. _"Where the hell are you, idiot?! Are you slacking off? I'm getting complaints that some people haven't got their newspapers yet!"_

"Er, sorry…"

_"__Sorry, my ass! Do you think sorry is enough? You know how much I pay you to do this job?"_

"I said I was sorry, okay? Will you stop yelling? I just…forgot."

_"__You just WHAT?!" _Botan wanted nothing but to cover her ears at the moment. _"How could you forget? Are you stupid?"_

"I said I forgot okay! Now will you just shut up?" she replied irritably. From the corners of her eyes, she could see Kurama sporting a smile with a mixture of amusement and apologetic.

_"__Why you little-"_

"You know how hard I work just to deliver other kids' grandmas' newspapers? Do _you _know that? I put all my efforts into it! I work my butt off!" she cried out indignantly, suddenly feeling unappreciated.

_"__Fine! Take the morning off! But you'll have to deliver the afternoon papers!" _the person from the other side relented, giving up when he could tell she was going to stop blabbering again.

"Fine, you grumpy old man!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, not paying any care to the weird stares she was receiving from people around her.

_"__Fine!"_

Before she could respond with another "Fine", he hung up, ending the call before she could aggravate him any further. She scowled and removed the phone from her ear, keeping it back into the safe place that is her pocket. "Damn old man…" she muttered under her breath and sat again on the bench.

"Someone from the newspaper delivery business, I presume?" Kurama spoke from beside her.

She glanced at him for only a brief second, before looking away and nodded her head tiredly. "Yeah, he's pissed 'cause I forgot to do my job."

"I can tell by the way you kept yelling into the phone that you fought back quite well," he playfully started. "I am at awe." He began to laugh.

"Oh, shush, you!" she replied timidly and gave him another playful punch at his shoulder.

His howl of laughter subsided a few seconds later, and when he felt he could finally speak without breaking into another fit, he told her calmly, "I thought you work part-time in the afternoon. You know, after school."

"I do. But that's only on school days. When it's in the weekends, I have to deliver the papers in the morning. The old guy doesn't appreciate my hard work at all. Idiot… doesn't he know how difficult it is to wake up at 6 a.m. sharp just to do my job? No, he doesn't!"

"Ha-ha. Calm down, Botan."

The said girl fumed angrily for a few moments, before huffing and crossing her arms. Although her pose didn't seem like she was relaxing, Kurama could tell that she had convinced herself to calm down, at least a little. "It's exhausting at times."

He arched an eyebrow at her. "If you think of it that way, why did you decide to become a part-timer as a papergirl in the first place?" he asked in pure interest.

"Because it can be fun. I mean, that old man may not appreciate me enough, but people who I deliver the newspaper to do, and I think it's a great boost of self-confidence to know that I can do at least one thing right," she explained further.

"Ah, I see. I nearly forgot that you're the goody-two-shoes type."

"Hey!" She peered at him – her eyes half playful and half threatening. "What does that mean, mister? I can be wild sometimes, too, ya know?"

A light smirk spread on his face. "Yes, like last night when you stripped?"

A dark red colour appeared on her face and she let out a stutter, "T-that night doesn't count!"

But Kurama only laughed in return. This only lasted for three seconds and he stopped, staring at her with his eyes glimmering brightly with humor. She took a silent note how gorgeous he actually looked. _Oh, Botan, you silly girl! Get a grip of yourself!_ She soon scolded herself.

"Any other reason why?" Kurama broke her out of her chain of thoughts and her gaze shifted to him again. She quickly forgot her initial argument with herself.

"Oh. Um…" she started and then looked again at the clouds on the sky above her head, being careful enough as not to look at the hot, scorching heat of the sun. "I guess it's a good exercise."

"Ah, right." He nodded his head curtly. "You've always been our school's best and fastest runner. But I thought most paperboys… or girls, in your case, usually use a bike or something?"

She giggled at his confused tone. "We do. But, I like using my feet way more. I still remember my first day like it was just yesterday… That old man asked if I had a bike so I could use it to deliver the papers, and I said no, I'd rather run. I can still imagine his face when I told him that. Priceless, I tell you, priceless!"

An amused chuckle erupted from the boy next to her, as he continued to listen. "Anyway, ever since then, other paperboys – or girls – start running instead of using bikes. I guess you can say I was the one that started the whole thing."

"Ha-ha, I see. So now I know the answer to my mother's question."

She turned to look at him with a questioning stare, and he took that as a cue to go on, "Once, about a year ago when teenagers who work as newspaper deliverers started running, she asked me why they weren't using their bikes and told me to ask you. I knew you didn't like me much at the time, so I never did. To this day, she never got the answer she wanted."

A loud laugh was elicited from her throat. Probably thought it was funny. "Well, when you get back to your house, you can tell her the story I just told you."

He joined her, his own laugh rivaling hers. One same thing went through their heads;

They've known each other for such a long time; years to be exact. Why didn't they try to get to know each other before? If they knew they would get along so well, they would have done that sooner.

Remind Botan to thank Keiko later.


End file.
